May 19, 2009

Department of Eagles - In Ear Park

It’s very funny that DOE originally called themselves Whitey’s on the Moon UK, them being from New York and all.  Maybe I should name my band Saw Horse UK, now that some people in Maryland have started using Sawhorse.  Ehh, mixed feelings.  Of course, there was a punk band in San Fransisco in the early 90’s named Sawhorse, too, but I do feel regret at having to share language space with someone else.  Most frustrating is that I love my Saw Horse mascot and comics, and these new people seem unaware of the Sawhorse from the Wizard of Oz.  They’re very convincing about their existence, and I doubt I could influence them much, so I’m casting about for fresh fish to fry.

I admire the name Sparklehorse. Beyond its obvious qualities of meaning, sound, and form, it has the advantage of being searchable on Google.  Perhaps I’ll find another Wizard of Oz creature, and join the words together.

I might use the word “bark” somehow.  Saw Horse is a great band name, though.  Grumble.

At any rate, Department of Eagles is a name infinitely superior to Whitey’s on the Moon.  When I try to describe the music, I get something like Beach Boys Broadway Folk Rock, which description fails entirely as a predictor of how much I would like this, which is quite a bit.

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Tags: Broadway Saw Horse Sparklehorse folk-rock name Sawhorse
September 16, 2008
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Saw Horse - Raised By Robots (track starts quiet/noisy)

I still like this album.  It’s a little episodic, and for that reason it works best knowing the story: a radio becomes sentient, and when it realizes it is trapped in a metal chassis it has words to say.  In that context, the episodes are like the radio flipping itself through the stations, falling back into the static, dropping in and out of the middle of different sounds.

This account did occur to me while I was making it, but not as a directive.  I have to admit, the process of making and putting together was dominant, and various stories arose as necessary.  But the stories work.

I’m really grateful to Emily Brock, Linda Kelen, and Lea Brock for sending me their thoughts about this album.

Many musicians say that they do or don’t listen to their own works.  I listen to mine, and not just narcissistically, and not just because I enjoy them.  Often, I can’t believe that they work, so I’ll see if I was justified in leaving them in whatever state.

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Tags: Raised By Robots Saw Horse process radio self story tim zach parker