Hook & Resolve: Those New Pornographers

So it has been a little while since I have written about music and that is mainly because I have been trying to figure out what to say about The New Pornographers, who have recently been in heavy rotation in my music machines. Specifically, I have been listening to Twin Cinema and their most recent release, Together. I am not sure I have anything real coherent to say here, so let's just take a shot at some observations about this over-the-top power pop collaborative.

• First, let's talk about their name--I mean c'mon folks, really?! Yeah I know it is a too-smart-for-words reference to a Japanese film, but have a little sympathy for the parents would ya? Like I need to explain pornography to my ten-year old when he wonders who is playing on the car stereo!
• Okay, seriously. I like them (a lot) but I don't think either of these efforts really constitutes a top-of-the heap album (for different reasons) although each one is chock-full of stellar singles.
• These dudes, particularly A.C. Newman, can write one mean pop tune. The big, amped-up power-pop sound that is The New Pornographers runs through both albums. These core songs are crammed full of sound and have near perfect sonic-hooks that always shift and resolve in the most satisfying of ways.
• At the same time their lyrics are interesting and challenging--nothing really straightforward here, but the kind of lyrics that engage and make you contemplate what is driving the song.
• That said, Twin Cinema is the stronger of the two outings IMHO because it has more variation in song style and takes more chances--it takes the full-bore power pop tunes to the max, like the opening title track, but also includes more crafted, mix-tempo tunes.
• The problem with Twin Cinema in my mind is that it is just too long. And by too long, I don't actually mean the actual length, but rather the quality of songs for as many as there are--this is an album that could use one more walk through by the producers to lose two or three tunes (I have my recommendations). As Slant pointed out in their review, this album "overstays its welcome."
• On the other hand, Together does a better job on the length and coherence front, but also isn't quite as adventurous. More mid-tempo power pop, less variation both toward the soft side and the over-the-top side. In fact, I have to disagree with Pitchfork's assessment that "Together's quietest track 'Valkyrie and the Roller Disco' feels like a speed bump in the middle of an album that could have used an extra jolt of energy." That song might be a little sweet, but it offers contrast that the rest of the album would benefit from.
• Now, Dan Bejar writes the minority of songs on these albums but they definitely stand apart from Newman's and I have mixed feelings here. On TC I am not real moved by them and given the length issue, they are chopping block material for me. On Together, however, they give perhaps the best contrast on the album (and are just better songs than on TC) and so they seem critical to the album as a whole.
• Now there seems some debate about how much Neko Case is used on the new album vs. older albums, but it seems clear to me she is more prominent on Together and that is all for the good. In fact, a heavy dose of her and Kathryn Calder is a recipe for success as far as I can tell.
• On one hand, this band seems like it is destined to write great songs, but still have to see what I think about their ability to put together a great album (and I am going to have to decide if it is worth it to explore other efforts to figure this out).
• Just not to end on a critical note--I have really enjoyed letting this big, infectious tunes bury me in sound. You should too, particularly as a summer indulgence.

But here is a band that really makes me wish for a wider readership as I would really like to know what others think. I am going to drop four tunes on you, but this is not a band to judge on such a small sample. I think you need to really spend some time to figure out what is going on here. Nevertheless, here are the samples--aimed more at giving those new to these folks a sample, than necessarily my favorites.

From Twin Cinema we have "These Are the Fables," a great Neko Case led tune with wonderful resolution at the end. That is followed by "Sing Me Spanish Techno," a straight forward mid-tempo NP pop-rock piece. From Together I offer up "Crash Years" which again showcases Neko in front of that signature NP sound followed by "Silver Jenny Dollar" which is a Bejar-penned-tune and demonstrates the different sound he works out of the band.

And of course, interested parties should Buy the Albums!

These Are the Fables

Sing Me Spanish Techno

Crash Years

Silver Jenny Dollar

97 Degrees, Feels Like Hell

Tonight as I left work, the Weather Channel told me it was 97 degrees outside but that it "feels like" 100 degrees. Really?! It is June. Summer just started people.
By the time it really heats up I am going to be cranky as all get out.

How bad is it? How about this? We had not one, but two air quality warnings issued today. And on top of that the National Weather Service issued this general alert.

Issued by The National Weather Service

Baltimore/Washington, MD

10:53 am EDT, Wed., Jun. 23, 2010

... HEAT INDEX VALUES NEAR 100 DEGREES THIS AFTERNOON...

HOT AND HUMID CONDITIONS WILL COVER THE MID ATLANTIC REGION TODAY. AFTERNOON HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL RISE INTO THE MID 90S EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE. THE COMBINATION OF HEAT AND HUMIDITY WILL GENERATE HEAT INDEX VALUES NEAR 100 DEGREES DURING THE AFTERNOON.

THESE VALUES CAN BE A CONCERN FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS SUCH AS INFANTS AND THE ELDERLY. THEREFORE... SIMPLE PRECAUTIONS SHOULD BE TAKEN. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER IS TO DRINK PLENTY OF FLUIDS. WATER IS YOUR BEST CHOICE AS IT PREVENTS DEHYDRATION. CONSIDER TAKING FREQUENT BREAKS IN THE SHADE DURING THE AFTERNOON SUN. SEEK AN AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENT DURING THE HOTTEST PART OF THE DAY. ALSO REMEMBER THAT THE INTERIOR OF YOUR CAR HEATS UP QUICKLY. DO NOT LEAVE CHILDREN OR PETS IN AN ENCLOSED CAR FOR ANY PERIOD OF TIME... NOT EVEN WITH THE WINDOWS CRACKED.

So much for wonderful lazy days of summer.

Happy Birthday to the Engineer!

Happy Birthday to The Engineer who turns 8-years old today!

Love you SC!

The Best Father's Day Gift

Any father knows the answer to the question "What is the best Father's Day gift?" It is, of course, being a father and that means the best gift is something you already have: your family. Just as a reminder of that, Neats and the boys gave me a framed picture montage of them with four images they made goofing around on the MacBook.

So here are the four people who make this day special to me.

The Captain

The Engineer

The Artist

The Neats (She Who Makes It All Happen)

Happy Dad's Day to all you fathers out there!

Veggies Gone Wild (or) What Happened to June?

Since June has apparently been kidnapped by August, we have been living with some high temps and humidity for the last few weeks. While that has not made us happy (and we are gonna be really irked if June shows up in August when we are up on the Big Lake attempting to escape August in DC), there has been one apparent benefit: the garden has taken off like crazy.

We have, of course, already been eating fresh lettuce for a while now and have even put up a few jars of some yummy, nutting arugula pesto (hint: just go with the roasted garlic and use either pine nuts or reduce the walnuts to a 1/3 of a cup)--but it is the summer veggies that are getting ready to burst--peas ready to pick, cucumbers overrunning their trellis, squash and peppers already start to tease us, tomatoes and beans starting their climb up their ladders and cages. Add fresh raspberries for dessert and flowers beginning to show their colors and you know that the solstice is upon us.

Spare & Muscular: Catching Up with Spoon

I have a swamp of discs piled up that I am listening to, but before getting to those, I need to finish writing about the last batch, all oriented at my effort to fill in some major holes in my listening from the last decade. Now by know, you know I started this project because of Paste's Best of the Decade list, but in the case of the band Spoon, the real imperative came from the fact that they also topped the big board's decade list (although apparently in the twisted world of music criticism, Spoon's consistency can also become a problem--one The National should worry on--um, yeah).

Now, of course, Spoon recently released a new album, but, as is my want, I went back in the catalog and started with the critically acclaimed Kill the Moonlight which made me wonder how it was possible I had not been listening to this band as this is an absolutely solid indie-rock album. That made me drop back one album to Girls Can Tell which is not quite as strong of an overall album for me--although is still very, very good all the way through and has a couple killer tunes. It is also a little more straight forward rock with Kill the Moonlight introducing a bit more techno-synth sound. These albums are both on the short-side (better than on the long-side in my book), but are just packed full. As Pitchfork notes in their review of Kill the Moonlight:

Spoon's latest is their magnum opus to date; it takes a scalpel to the highlight reel of their career, cutting and pasting a 35-minute tour de force that ends too soon.

If I hadn't know so ahead of time, I think I would have assumed these gents hailed from the UK given Britt Daniel's punky drawl which is Joe Strummer like at times. But, of course, Texas is where Spoon calls home which might help explain the Austin-slacker attitude in their songs and the bluesy-rock feel which underpins many songs. Both of these qualities are key to why I find them so appealing--they typically take on very small, discrete everyday objects, events and ideas in their songs. That is not to say that the songs are simple--their may be a larger point to the songs--but ultimately, they don't over-reach. Observation trumps preaching.

But what is most intoxicating to me is the music. It too is simple and straightforward, but not. First of all, there is a whole bunch of space in the music and you really get a sense of the band consciously leaving that space between the instruments, riffs, vocals and melodies. At the same time, the music is very muscular--I can't think of another word to describe it. The bass and drum are not only insistent and solid underneath these songs, you get the feeling that the whole song is built around them--and yet they do all this without tons of notes or fills. The guitar (and on the more tech-oriented Kill, keyboards) do all kinds of wonderful lyrical filling in--but again always in a sorta-punky-rockabilly-chord-rippin' way. It is somehow lyrical and edgy simultaneously. And then there is Brit Daniels vocals which are growly, tense and urgent one minute, laid-back and whatever the next but always a perfect fit.

So I am far from done with Spoon. I will probably jump into the 2007 effort Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga next, or perhaps I will even try to start being current and pick up Transference. Any thoughts there? Until then, here are a few from these two wonderful albums. As usual, I am going with the order I experienced the albums, rather than chronology. Also going to try to give you a little mix of tempo and style.

Small Stakes (Kill the Moonlight / Buy Album)

Vittorio E.

Lines in the Suit (Girls Can Tell / Buy Album)

Take a Walk

The Perfect 28-Out Game: A Teachable Moment?

Last night's "Debacle at Commerica" and the aftermath that kept unfolding today was amazing to watch (the boys will probably remember it forever since we let them get back out of bed to watch the "perfect game" unfold), but it also reminded me of a lesson I used to teach in my first semester business communication course.

My colleagues and I were always struggling to find ways to help our students understand the constructive nature of language--since most saw language as little more than the vehicle to convey meaning. We all had our different methods and content to get at this point. Not surprisingly, I used a baseball analogy to get at this concept.

The basic idea is that there three umpires who are discussing how they call balls and strikes.

The first umpire replies: “Some are balls and some are strikes, and I call them as they are.”

The second umpire replies: “Some are balls and some are strikes, and I call them as I see 'em.”

The third umpire replies: “Some are balls and some are strikes, but they ain’t nothin' ‘til I call 'em.”

Simply replace "balls/strikes" with "safe/out" and last night, while heartbreaking for us Tiger fans, make this point painfully clear. Were I still in the classroom, I might actually have an excuse to show a Tigers game in the classroom under the title of a "teachable moment."