the revolution starts in a sea of paper cups
Mother’s Day 2009.
Were only human; this at least we’ve learned.
-Bowerbirds
And everything must start from here
This is my last required blog post for my class, and as such, I thought it would be a good idea to count down for you the songs that I have found especially noteworthy this semester.
Top ten songs I have reviewed that you must listen to (I forced myself to strive for diversity):
10. Raise the Sails- The Appleseed Cast
9. Take My Life- Deleted Scenes
8. Dirt on Your Shoes- Bishop Allen
7. One, Two… One- Say Hi
6. Dimmer- Bishop Allen
5. Summertime Clothes- Animal Collective
4. The River- Anathallo
3. Radio Kaliningrad- Handsome Furs
2. In the Flowers- Animal Collective
1. Evangeline- Handsome Furs
I don’t know if you, faithful reader, have noticed, but I’ve only reviewed new from 2009 music this semester. Sadly, this discludes a lot of new to me music, or at least music that I love that I didn’t blog about. Enjoy this list, I sure do.
10. Xavia- The Submarines
9. Bloody Nose- Earlimart
8. Horny Hippies- The Dodos
7. Bruises- Chairlift
6. You’re a Wolf- Sea Wolf
5. 2080- Yeasayer
4. Modern Nature- Sondre Lerche
3. I Sing I Swim- Seabear
2. To Love Like the Father & Son Love Each Other- Half Handed Cloud
1. I am John- Lonely, Dear
0. In Our Talons- Bowerbirds
I hope you enjoy this second list as much as I have over the last few weeks or months. They are some really great songs.
the truth is a lie you just need
As long as a band doesn’t sound like they’re out of high school, and they don’t sing about topics high schoolers sing about, then I guess it’s forgivable that they’re younger than me. I suppose as I get older that will continue to be the trend. DC area’s Deleted Scenes recently caught my attention, not because they released an album this week, but because of their growing hype since their January 6 release, Birdseed Shirt. To be fair, I’m not sure it can actually be considered hype, more-so just one positive review (that consequently led me to finding others).
With no knowledge of the band aside from this lone album (they apparently had a previous inferior ep), I’ve been listening to these songs on repeat trying to hear something I can get behind. Not too much luck yet, but there’s hope.
Turn to Sand kicks off the album in a catchy, unique way but at :34 starts to sound heavy on the 90’s pop influences and looses me a bit. The cacophony of sounds from 2 to 2:30 regain my attention before including some album foreshadowing at the 3 minute mark, at which point the song loses focus, but in an acceptable way. Three songs into the album I usually start to wonder if it’s frontman Dan Scheuerman’s voice that’s wearing me thin. I can definitely get behind the tune of Take My Life, so I can overlook the Band of Horses meets (enter name of some pop-punk band I would have listened to when I was 17) vocals.
Although I must admit, I’m not sure how I feel about the meaning of the song, Got God is probably my favorite on the album. The ingenious way they introduce you to the tune earlier makes my ears welcome the track, particularly following the heavily distorted Mortal Sin. Sung kind of like a subtle but collaborative bar song, God Got touts got god, got boring/lost god, stayed boring got drunk/found god, once again/stayed drunk, now I’m singin’ my sins. My life is embodied in the next track, Ithaca, a song dominated by long-distance relationship references. I know a lot of people do long distance relationships, especially in bands, but the song outlines trying to get from one place to another and doing whatever it takes, and in the end just biting the bullet and paying for the most expensive fare. It sucks, but you do what you have to. I get it; they get it.
What One Long Country Song lacks in excitement, it makes up for in cunning lyrics, while Deacons reflects on the bands days at Catholic prep school. It is written in a bitter tone towards religion similar to Got God and Mortal Sin. These songs were oddly composed to carry the meaningful weight of the album, yet they are the less catchy (read: bland) songs of the album and therefore are not conveyed as powerfully as some of their lighter songs.
My friend Marilyn once told me a story of these two gay men who dressed in crazy but complimentary outfits and rode a tandem bike around her hometown. Another Worse Cliche, I’m pretty sure, was inspired by that same couple from PA. The track has an underlying, muted sense of happiness (a secret life/secret happiness, I’m convinced) that is covered by heavier sounds representing the confusion of life and relationships gone sour. The final track is unlike the rest of the album both in style and meaning. It again has a painfully truthful element about going to a home when there is no where else to go. Listen for the lyrics: but what’s the point of one more disguise/when you’re not even yourself in your daily life? and the climax at 3:00, definite highlights of the song.
I’m a solid seven times through the album and I still think they are just okay. The true test really comes a week later if I have forgotten about Deleted Scenes completely or wanted to listen to them again. I guess we’ll see; but for now, I’m going to file this band away in my memory with the tandem bicyclists.
