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October 18, 2006
- Goin’ Against Your Mind, by Built to Spill: When I first heard this track on Built to Spill’s 2006 release You in Reverse I thought, hey these guys are back to their old form. Alas, the rest of the album is a little flat, so in the end I was disappointed. But it’s no matter, because this 8 minute track is stellar—a fast tempo and lots of different instruments going in different directions but still held in a cohesive whole. Plus Doug Marsh’s guitars always sound so solitary and haunting.
- Stuck Between Stations, by The Hold Steady: They’re one of the few bands I can think of whose albums have progressively, consistently gotten better over the past two years. This track particularly caught my attention because of the John Berryman reference (of course it makes sense, since he was a Twin Cities native). Craig Finn sings of Berryman’s suicide, and tells a story of Berryman’s conversation with the devil before jumping off the Washington Bridge. It’s a really great intellectual reference in the middle of a truly great indie rock anthem.
- Black Cab, by Jens Lekman: with two rocking tracks to start out, I thought I’d change up the tone a bit with Jens Lekman. I loved “Black Cab” when I first heard it sometime last year, and I’ve been looking for the right mix for it. So here it is. What is it that makes Jens’ music so great? It’s the underlying R&B sounds, of course!
- Ankle Injuries, by Fujiya and Miyagi: Not sure what it is, but electronica always follows well after Jens (see my previous mix). I picked up a couple of these guys’ tracks after reading a positive Pitchfork review of their album. Very simple melody laid over a nice, driving beat, with one of the musicians chanting, “Fujiya, Miyagi, Fujiya, Miyagi” over and over again. It’s a study in minimalism, I suppose, and it really works.
- Playhouses, by TV On The Radio: Oh, man, this song is great. It works well as a first track, or a great transition to get things moving again in the mix after slowing things up for a track or two. And as the song descends into its closing fuzz, the band sings with one of the most exhilirating cadences I’ve heard all year.
- I Feel Like Going Home, by Yo La Tengo: What a great album Yo La Tengo has come out with this year. I was a bit worried about them after they released Summer Sun (had they lost it?) but this one comes out and they’re back in full form. Here’s an exquisit, sad song with a solemn piano, female vocals and not much else. It gives me chills just thinking about it.
- Emergency, by Wilderness: This indie rock band from Baltimore was one of my great discoveries of the summer. The underlying music harkens back to Interpol, but the decidedly non-melodic chanting of the lead singer totally wrecks any meaningful reference to that band, or any larger school of music to which it might belong. The result is a sound that is at the same time familiar yet completely their own.
- Underneath the Waves, by The Twilight Singers: When I was a teenager, The Afghan Whigs were one of my agnst bands. Now the Twilight Singers come along, and while they use the same formula—that is, tight verses combined with really strong choruses—and create a sound that is similarly cathartic but a little more restrained. So it produces the same emotional reaction, but appeals to my more adult sensibilities.
- St. Rosa and the Swallows, by The Thermals: See my previous post on The Thermals and you’ll see why I put one of their tracks here. How could I not include them?
- Favours for Favours, by The Futureheads: I always liked these guys, but I fell in love with them at Pitchfork. This song, off their 2006 release, particularly caught my attention because of its subjectmatter—trying to get some gal’s attention. It’s a theme that has been all but completely played out in indie rock, but with their sense of melody and optimism, The Futureheads are able new and exciting.
- Eyed Eyes Eye, by Conner: They’re a young band out of Lawrence, Kansas. And they have a punk-rock sound tinged with traditional rock and roll sensibilities. There’s something very Exile-on-Mainstreet-esque about this track, and about their album generally. Although the song by no means reaches the heights of Exile, the band nonetheless has a lot of potential for indie rock greatness, and I think that comes through with this hard-driving little rocker.
- Requiem, by M. Ward: A touching in-memoriam of a truly great person who may or may not have actually existed. Whether or not he did, I feel bad that I never had an opportunity to meet the man to whom this song is dedicated. M. Ward has the unique ability to sing songs that really make you feel what he’s talking about. He’s a lot like Tom Waits in that regard, though Ward is a bit more melodic about it.
- Pancho, by Tortoise (featuring Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy): Tortoise and BPB got together and produced an album of unrecognizeable cover songs that overall was pretty eh. But this song is really great—there’s lots of opportunities for irony and sarcastic commentary, but Will Oldham sings it with the upmost sincerity.
- Sons and Daughters, by The Decemberists: I’ve been warming up to the Decemberists’ latest over the past few weeks. When I first heard it, I thought it sounded a bit too, I don’t know, Steely Dan? But now I realize that it’s more like the band is reaching for a newer, heightened form of their sound. I can’t fault them for that, definitely. And this song, which is the album’s last track, calls to mind the underlying optimism of wanting to escape from your life—not because you want to run away from what you have, but because you want something better.
- You Gotta Feel It, by Spoon: Where did this song come from? I’ve had Kill the Moonlight since it came out in 2002, but I didn’t notice how great this song was until just recently. Great horns section, plus a really catchy, minimalist piano line that comes in sometime in the second verse. And at just about a minute and a half, it’s a perfect closer.
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