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Not just a song, but fifteen of the most ambitious and complex compositions of the decade, all bundled together in one surprisingly cohesive whole. I’m talking about of Montreal’s sensational Skeletal Lamping, of course, and the fact that I simply can’t get enough of it at the moment – and that it gets better with each and every listen – has prompted me to post about its genius.
This is going to get a mixed reception because of the ‘R’ rated lyrics and the schizophrenic nature of the songs themselves. People are clearly going to suggest Barnes has stepped over into the world of self-indulgence, but spend some serious time with this record and I can absolutely guarantee it will work its way into your head. You might even find yourself absent-mindedly wandering round the office singing “we can do it softcore if you want, but you should know that I go both ways”. I know I did. And with the gorgeous strains of Skeletal Lamping ringing in my ears, I didn’t care one bit.
Jay Reatard – “See/Saw”
Deerhunter – “Fluorescent Grey”
These tie together quite nicely, as Reatard covered the Deerhunter song on one of his recent limited edition 7 inches (which have, by the way, been neatly compiled for an October release on Matador).
In April last year I described the Deerhunter track as “a wonderful slow burning gem set to an urgent rhythm track and adorned with chiming guitars, breathy backing vocals and, towards the climax, a haze of buzzing guitars, nestled low in the mix.” For some reason, I subsequently forgot to listen to it again, but thanks to Reatard I’ve rediscovered its simple pleasures.
Speaking of Jay Reatard, he’s no slouch when it comes to songwriting either. In fact he’s possibly the only man who’s more prolific than Bradford Cox. The lead track from the upcoming Matador Singles ‘08 album, “See/Saw”, is as a pretty much perfect three-minute garage-punk tune. Download it now, thank me later.
Perhaps it’s the sign of a dwindling attention span – or maybe I’m a touch embarrassed about my ‘total plays’ count over at last.fm – but today I’ve been focusing on short tracks. I made a rather awesome iTunes playlist of every decent sub-two minute track I could find and my personal favourite turned out to be “Awful Bliss” by Guided By Voices.
What Robert Pollard achieves here in 72 seconds here is absolutely staggering. While lesser songwriters would baulk at a song of this length, Pollard knows that less is sometimes more. That mentality applies to the recording process, too, and consequently “Awful Bliss” sounds like a magical first take. If someone told me it had been written, recorded and mastered (if GBV albums even get mastered!) in twenty minutes I’d probably believe them.
Hunt it down (it’s one of several indie-rock classics of the highly recommended Bee Thousand) if you haven’t heard it.
Today – and for the past week since I first discovered it through the rather excellent indie-pop blog Take The Pills! – I’ve been listening to The Sea Urchins‘ “Pristine Christine” practically on repeat. I had considered The Field Mice’s “Emma’s House” to be Sarah Records’ crowning moment but now I’m not so sure; this is a truly perfect sub-three minute helping of taut jangle-pop. Bonus marks for the ridiculously twee title.
At the time of writing, you can listen to “Pristine Christine” on this fan MySpace page:
http://www.myspace.com/theseaurchinsanddelta
Song Of The Day #5
January 8, 2009 in Comment, Music, Song of the Day | Tags: Animal Collective, experimental, genius, My Girls, Song of the Day | Leave a comment
After years of quietly blowing people’s minds, Animal Collective have suddenly exploded in popularity/notoriety. Their latest full-length (numero 9, incidentally) has split the blogosphere right down the middle – is it the best album ever, or merely the best album of the decade? Or is it an over-hyped turkey? No, not many takers there.
I like to spend a bit of time getting into my AC records and Merriweather is no different. I want to love it – and I’m sure I will – but I’m taking it one song at a time at the present. My Girls is undoubtedly my favourite; it’s the archetypal immediate AC stand-out (like Peacebone, Grass, and Who Could Win a Rabbit before it) with a hook to rival crystal meth in the dependency stakes. This could be the tune that sucks Panda Bear fans who don’t love the Collective (they do exist, I know a few…) into Merriweather’s elaborate web of kaleidoscopic psychedelia. Let’s hope so. My Girls is going to take some beating in 2009.