December 11, 2008
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Andrew Bird - Noble Beast (hear “Fitz & Dizzyspells”)

This guy reminds me of Hanne Hukkelberg.  He does a good looping thing live - I saw him open for Smog several years ago - and it really comes through on record.  His layers aren’t structural as much as textural.  The structure is really determined by one part, and the other parts just add detail.

This is a “leak” of an album which will be released in early 2009.  I have to admit that I am starting to allow myself to have things to which I have no right, strictly speaking.  I doubt I will buy this album.  I also listen to all kinds of things on Lala which I will probably not buy - which, to be honest I intend not to buy.

On the other hand, in the past around half the CDs I bought were things I listened to less than five times - I was just too curious about what they sounded like.  Some of those risks payed off: D’Gary, Tom Ze, Gastr Del Sol, Lisa Germano, Smog, Bang On A Can.  Now, I will be giving money to Times New Viking, and probably to Migala, and  I even bought a few mp3s specifically to post here on the Daily Listen, or even just to hear again for fun.  So I am still experimenting, and still paying when the experiment works, but I am not funding failed experiments.

In general, that is a serious consequence of the new music marketplace.  Without some sort of payment to failures, do we risk losing the successes?

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Tags: Structure Times New Viking copyright hanne hukkelberg leak smog texture gastr del sol
November 30, 2008
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Times New Viking - Live at Modified in Phoenix 29 November 2008

Times New Viking is my new favorite band.  They wallop such enormous ass it’s like they are friends with the class clown in a school for fat kids.  “Kick me” signs printed on Kinko’s’s full assortment of paper colors pour out of their amplifiers like rainbows of blood.  Don’t worry, it’s actually ketchup, made from heirloom tomatoes and sea salt.

The band is completely in the moment but executing very well prepared ideas.  They come out of chaos on a dime and switch gears at will.  They have real songs, and can play their instruments.

The crowd was super-excited.  Right in front of me, a few cool kids straight out of the cool-kid catalog (hair scragged, goofy smiles, talking full of ideas) were ready to mosh, but only ironically.  They waited a couple of songs, then began jostling each other.  Then they “moshed”, disappearing briefly into a mess of bodies - then they were just standing again, having referred to a known quantity to a satisfying degree while staying far enough removed for coolth.

Modified exemplifies what I look for in a venue.  There’s nothing precious about it, there’s plenty of places to be, and it’s easy to get in and out of.  You can escape in two directions, because the main area is shaped like a donut - the bathroom is in the middle, which is a little smelly, but whatever it’s ***k rock.  I suspect this shape, combined with the plywood floor, is what leads to the decent acoustics.

In a rare case of actually having my head in the right place at the right time, I recorded this show.  Here is a .zip with mp3s all nicely edited for you.  Use it wisely.

http://www.mediafire.com/?wxjhjnzkmzk

Deerhunter also played.  It felt like watching the Beatles and Pink Floyd play back to back, or Sonic Youth and Joy Division.  Deerhunter was way too loud, though.

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Tags: Kick acoustics deerhunter live songwriting sonic youth times new viking I recorded this
November 10, 2008
Matador Records - Intended Play

I would guess that this is Matador Records’s riot squad here, the big smear across the face of the music industry which they hope will place cursors on links and people somewhere within 5 miles of a record store.

What is most pressed into my spirit at this point is the horrible, horrible acoustic guitar sound on Lou Reed’s live track.  Granted, up until this century acoustic guitar was very difficult to amplify, primarily because taking a resonant box and attaching to it pretty much any transducer turned up to eleven is highly susceptible to feedback.  This must be a Lou Reed show from 1986 or something, right?  Twenty years later, actually - well after Taylor Guitars among others drastically improved acoustic guitar pickup technology.

Spirit-impression number two: out of 13 tracks we have the guy from The New Pornographers, Belle and Sebastian, Pavement, Lou Reed, Shearwater, and Mogwai - almost half the disc is bands formed before 2000.  We have reached the age of the indie rock Old Guard, who like Madonna and U2 perpetually fill the space which they made in people’s lives long ago.

Third impression: I like Times New Viking and Jaguar Love.  They write good songs but don’t sound like they’re trying to write good songs.  They sound freaked out and ear splitting without hurting my feelings.

Jennifer O’Connor’s good too.  She could almost have a Richard Buckner thing going on in her voice sometimes.

(via herosquad)

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Tags: U2 acoustic guitar matador reblog sampler Times New Viking
October 27, 2008
Times New Viking - Stay Awake EP

It’s fukkin’ nifty.

Times New Viking is still bashing it on in there.  At some point, I imagine the bleary-eyed effect of driving on the wrong side of the road will wear off, and after they scrape the sludge from the top of the bucket, they’ll be left with their songs, which are still pretty decent.  Until then I’m along for the ride.

In business terms, it makes a lot of sense to start with a zag, in this case turning the mic preamps up very high, get the brand recognized, then broaden the appeal once they have a fan base and, more importantly, have had the chance to work on songs and performance for several years.

I plan to see them play later this year.

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Tags: distortion zag Times New Viking