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June 19, 2006
Largehearted List - June 19, 2006
Here are the eleven most interesting music blog posts I read this week, presented alphabetically by blog name:
Ashcan Rantings interviewed John Roderick of the Long Winters.
My friends and tour mates influence me a lot, so I'm writing songs in part to impress other musicians. I hope that Matthew from Nada Surf, or Charles from The Wrens, or Colin from The Decemberists, or the boys in Centro-Matic or Death Cab hear my songs and dig them, and when they congratulate me I feel gratified. Chris Walla has apparently been playing and singing the song Honest during his soundchecks, which is the best kind of compliment. Other than my friends, I continue to listen to AC/DC, Black Sabbath, and ZZ Top mostly.
Berkeley Place dug up Blondie covers.
Those were the days, and Blondie was the band. Most folks were either in the Pat Benatar or Bondie camp, and although I straddled both women (figuratively), I somehow knew that Blondie’s songs were better. They hit you in the gut, but not too hard (because they were pop). What other mainstream pop superstar could get away with a hook like “She’s so dough, let’s rip her to shreds”?
Bows + Arrows reviews the Mountain Goats' Los Angeles show.
This wasn't a show as much as it was a sharing, something intensely personal and beautiful and outright special, and I felt lucky.
Chromewaves reviews last week's Band of Horses Toronto show.
The live renditions of the Everything material came off much more dynamically than the recorded versions, which I think are a touch restrained and even samey-sounding across the length of the album - especially now that I've heard them performed. But by the same token, having experienced the songs live, I now appreciate the album even more.
Daytrotter, one of the greatest things to happen to online music in 2006, had singer-songwriter Casey Dienel perform an intimate four-song set, including one new original song and a cover of Pavement's "Cut Your Hair."
She’s universally enchanting, is what I’m saying, whether she’s talking about pole-dancing or the conventional cutenesses that grandmothers and kindergarten teachers tell the neighbors over the fence or over lemonades. Her pretty jejune bangs of blond hair and a shy, delicate smile that sparkles like a lake when she shows it (which is almost continuously), give off the adorable sense of youth uninhibited. And it is, but it isn’t. There is, within her that genuine tug of worldly wonderment that somehow becomes jaded with age, but there’s also within her a real tenure that can be seen as wisdom beyond years.
Good Hodgkins continued its Desdemona festival preview with a profile of Rogue Wave.
For years bay-area native Zach Rogue worked as a programmer by day and a DJ at UC Davis by night, finding the time in-between to write songs that fell on the same deaf ears as his playlists. But when he began writing music under the name “Rogue Wave” in 2002 he noticed something peculiar happening: people actually liked what he was doing for a change — his family, his friends, and even he himself.
Great Body of Water continued its trek through the indie music alphabet with a post dedicated to the letter "S."
Lastly, is the Super Swedes: Suburban Kids With Biblical Names! These swedes pop it hardcore style with infectious beats, crafty song manipulation and sneaky effects. By using their infectious beats and some good computer work these guys create great songs and beat right into your heart with their fun music.
Marathonpacks has a guest blogger eloquently review the Mountain Goats' recent Portland show.
It’s completely amazing to me, the ways in which John Darnielle is self-aware. There was a point in the show when he talked about his upcoming record Get Lonely and how, basically, it is an exploration of sadness, how sometimes we feel sad, sort of, but we don’t feel all-the-way-sad and we need that one certain record to help us follow our sadness down the rabbit hole to see just how far it (the sadness, the rabbit hole, take your pick) will take us, which is past the bottom because it’s bottomless. I’m paraphrasing, but not by much. The thing is, all his music is like that. For me, he’s simply so articulate, so precise in his language and imagery that his music absolutely brings forth a visceral version of feelings, particularly feelings about memories, that I just don’t have the words for.
My Old Kentucky Blog shared several covers performed by Elliott Smith.
Elliott Smith's passing was a sad day indeed. Before he took his own life, he recorded numerous beautiful covers which he really seemed to make his own.
Nothing But Green Lights had music bloggers describe the best song they've legally downloaded in the past month in twelve syllables or less.
Garrison Reid, Indie Interviews Podcast:
Before Beirut, Tapping Teens Wrote Wild Cheerful Chants
Tilly and the Wall - Bad Education
Zoilus reviewed Twangfest X.
I'd gone to the festival looking forward to seeing friends - Twangfest grew out of the Postcard2 mailing list (the ILM of alt-country), of which I was a member for many years - and kind of dreading listening to all the bands (a total of about 17 in four days). Instead I got my faith in the miracle power of rock'n'roll totally freaking restored.
