Josh Ritter has a new album coming out in May. The Hold Steady is also putting one out in may so Album of the Month may be a photo finish, but I would not be surprised to see both of these albums on my end of year top 10.
You could pick up an advance copy of the Ritter album at your local indie on Record Store Day. As a result there will probably be a few tracks and reviews floating around for the next few weeks before the proper release. I will hold off any sort of review, besides to say, if Change of Time was the only song on the album I would still pay $15 for it. Really great song.
I have a copy of Chuck Berry live in London with my dad's name written on the record. I put that thing on sometimes and think of him as a teenager. I hear the little pops and scratches knowing he made them. I read his handwriting on the sleeve and find myself thinking things like, "ironic what a waste of time cursive turned out to be." I can picture him listening to this record. In my head, my 16 year old dad is just a smarter, cooler version of me. The prequel. His fingerprints are on this record. The music coming out of that record ties me to him in a way the Chuck Berry pandora station just can't approach.
Saturday is Record Store Day. Loads of labels and artist are releasing exclusives available only at your local independent record store on this specific day. It's sort of awareness/appreciation thing.
We are lucky in SLC to have a couple great independent record stores. Slowtrain records is the overwhelming favorite for the indie rock sorts. The places just oozes coolness, without the hipper-than-thou "Do we look like the kind of store that sells "I Just Called To Say I Love You? Go to the mall"* bull crap that sometimes spews from self-proclaimed "music" people. The music selection is pretty narrow- all comfortably fitting under the GIGANTIC umbrella of modern indie rock- but if that's your kind of thing, this should be your kind of place. Slowtrain is fast becoming the heart of SLC's indie music scene. They host in- store performances by national acts, provide a platform for local bands, promote and sell local art, send out a weekly newsletter, update a blog... in short, they are a sterling example of why Record Stores should have a Day.
Randy's records is also great, especially for used vinyl, classic rock and jazz. Plus they fix and sell used turntables. Super helpful folks if you're into records.
Go get some new music Saturday. Buy a cd for old times sake. Buy a record to hang on your wall. It's record store day. Celebrate.
Click the link below for a list of Record Store Day exclusive releases and Slowtrain's schedule for the day. I'm heading down in the morning if anybody is bored and wants a ride.
The album of the year race started in earnest in March. Broken Bells(the Shins' James Mercer and DangerMouse collaboration), Frightened Rabbit (follow up to the amazing 2008 release Midnight Organ Fight), and Gorillaz all released great albums. And that's just March 9th. Neon Trees and She & Him both put out notable albums later in the month as well.
Even amongst this competition, March's album of the month award goes to Titus Adronicus for their big, loud epic "The Monitor." (click on band name to go to their website.)
The Short of it: Titus Andronicus sounds like a Flogging Molly/ Okkervil River hybrid with Craig Finn, Conor Oberst, and Will Sheff sharing vocal duties singing 8 minute drunken outtakes from the Stage Names.
For people who: A)Like The Hold Steady or Okkervil River or Bright Eyes. B)Wish more bands would mold two or three songs into one long song like Gn'R did with Sweet Child o' Mine and November Rain. C)Are not distracted by profanity.
Where to start: A More Perfect Union, Titus Andronicus Forever, No Future Part 3. (you'll know whether it's for you pretty quick.)
The Long of it:
Titus Adronicus is a band from New Jersey. They drop a Born to Run reference in the opening verse of The Montier's first track. These two facts combine to make the Bruce Springsteen comparisons seem easy. Throw in the Springsteen name drop that closes the album and you start thinking they want you to make the connection. But it's not very a very helpful one. Bar rock energy + occasional use of piano does not necessarily equal The Boss. Sure, there are little bits of Springsteen influence here and there- the harmonica in the first half of Four Score and Seven sounds like it came from Live '75-'85. Theme From Cheers has a bit of a Springsteen feel as well, with its 'drinking with my buddies and longing for a better life' sentiment. There's even a short sarcastic sax solo in ...And Ever. But as a whole, it's not exactly Springsteen-esque.
What I think has lead to this mistaken connection is the fact that Titus Andronicus does actually sound a lot like The Hold Steady on some songs- the opener in particular. So it seems like a logical inference. But what the Hold Steady and Titus have in common is not the same as what the Hold Steady and Bruce Springsteen have in common. The Hold Steady sounds like the the E street band. The singer, Craig Finn, sounds nothing like Bruce Springsteen. Titus Andronicus lead singer, Patrick Stickles, delivers the lyrics to these songs with a not quite singing/ not quite talking yelp that gives great emphasis to lyrics that could otherwise be drowned out by overpowering music. In short, he sounds a lot like Craig Finn. But Finn is the least Springsteen-y sounding bit of The Hold Steady. (lyrics aside.)
Additionally, Titus is lyrically much darker than Springsteen. These characters are not "finding some reason to believe." But, if you don't mind phrases like "the enemy is everywhere," and "you will always be a loser," bouncing around your head, the music is pretty fun.
The energy of that music is really what carries The Monitor. The guitar plays HUGE hooky solos all through the album. The music takes the heavy sentiment of these lyrics and gives it levity. It almost sound like they are enjoying their misery. And maybe you should too. Titus Andronicus Forver is an incredible, Ramones quality, punk singalong. I challenge you not to start singing "it's still us against them" at the end of Four Score and Seven. And the guitar that carries A More Perfect Union almost requires air guitar accompaniment.
At some point, perhaps when you catch yourself playing an air solo on a broom stick while you sweep your basement, you realize this is just what rock music is about. Transforming your basement, or your back yard, or the civil war from an endless slow march to a fists in the air, wind in the face sprint for a few minutes. Rock and roll began as rebellion. Rock and roll is not patient, or subtle, or even-tempered. It's a base, instinctive reaction to an incredibly nuanced world. It's not a good way to vote or raise your kids. It is not a good way to live your life. But it is a hell of a way to spend 45 minutes.
And, at least for March, it's going to be hard to beat Titus Andronicus as a soundtrack to that 45.
December is traditionally the "Best of" everything month. Slackers put it off until January. But they're too late.
What I'm about to do (post a best of 09 list in April 2010) is, at this point, culturally irrelevant.
But, it could save you a little time.
The purpose of this blog will be to document my search for something to listen to in 2010.
So have a listen to what I liked last year. If you don't like any of it, you'd probably be better served reading something else. Try The Daily Beast. They've got a little bit of everything there. Politifact is pretty good too, if you want to be "that" guy.
9 from 09
1- A.A. Bondy- When the Devil's Loose. Great songwriting. Falls in the category of Americana. This album has been a grower for me. Started out "just pretty good." Ended the year as a certain top 5. Mightiest of Guns, I Can See The Pines, and On the Moon are all great. Oh the Vampyre is good if you are the Team Edward type.
2- Rural Alberta Advantage- Hometowns. Technically this is an 08 album. But it was a limited self-release in 08. 2009 was really the breakthrough year for the RAA. They got all sorts buzz at South by Southwest, were signed by Saddlecreek (Bright Eyes, Rilo Kiley's best album, lots of other sweater wearing emo bands) and toured the US for the first time. Their show at Kilby Court in July showcased a band genuinely loving the music they had created. People often mention Neutral Milk Hotel as a reference. This album is much lighter than that comparison suggests. Good music still, even if all you listen to are the drums. Don't Haunt This Place was on a mix if I gave you one anytime in the last 2 years. Frank, AB, Summertime, Edmonton and Drain the Blood are all great places to start as well.
3- David Bazan- Curse Your Branches. This is, for me, probably the saddest album of the year. Maybe the Antlers album hold that title. But this is a close second. In his younger days, David Bazan was Pedro the Lion. He wrote incredible, bare songs many of which documented his personal belief in Christianity. Curse Your Branches, his first album released under his proper name, is roughly the story of his journey away from that faith. There is the type of pain you normally associate with the loss of loved one, or the end of a marriage, all throughout the album. It is beautiful and sad. He is, for my money, one of the most thoughtful lyricists in music today. Listen to Hard to Be. Then Harmless Sparks. In Stitches if you want the autobiography.
4- The Low Anthem- Oh My God, Charlie Darwin. Another album full of beautifully written, lyric driven songs. I swear there was a day last fall that Charlie Darwin was the only song I listened to. All day. It's that kind of good.
5- Avett Brothers- I and Love and You. Tightly produced and incredibly well played album. Heart on sleeve emotion. The type of music you can listen and related to all year, no matter how you feel. The title track and The Perfect Space express perfect longing. My Heart Like a Kick Drum might be the best pop song of the year.
6- Yeah Yeah Yeahs- It's Blitz. I will group the Where The Wild Things Are soundtrack with this and say Karen O had a great year. She is a fav in our house. A couple of the songs (Skeleton and Little Shadows notably) rival Maps for sweetness. Zero is all sorts of danceable.
Her cover of Daniel Johnson's Worried Shoes on WTWTA is really nice as well.
7- Say Hi- Ohhs and Ahhs. Ashley's favorite of the year. The older I get, the less I can argue with her taste in music. The girl is pop music through and through. The Stars Just Blink for Us is the perfect formula. November was White, December was Gray brings a little darkness in. One quirky dude, who know how to write a catchy song. He also plays every instrument on this album.
8- Casiotone for the Painfully Alone- Vs Children. A loose theme of lawbreaking and child bearing ties the songs on this album together. Springsteen's Nebraska being one of my musical founding documents I am naturally attracted to this framework. Very conversational tone to his lyrics. Reminiscent, both lyrically and musically, of Elliot Smith- but with keyboards instead of guitars. Natural Light kills me with it's If You See Her Say Hello sentimentality and Northfield, MN sounds like a missing track off of Smith's XO.
9- Fanfarlo- Reservior. Arcade Fire quality intensity that doesn't come across as imitation. Great first album by a band I expect will sell a lot of records for a really long time. Singer sounds like David Bryn a bit. They could probably do a really great cover of Psycho Killer. The Walls Are Coming down sounds like Beirut, which is always welcome in my book. Maybe that's the best description of this band. David Byrn, with Arcade Fire as his backing band, singing Beirut songs.
Honorable mention: Elvis Perkins. Knaan. The XX. The Antlers. Phoenix. We Were Promised Jetpacks. Kelly Clarkson's "Already Gone" and "my life would suck without you." The Biggie and Miley Cyrus mash up "party and bulls**t." and my mom's new christmas CD, One Small Boy.
