1997

It's hard to believe that ten years ago was... ten years ago. I was in 9th grade in 1997, and I still often wake up thinking I have geometry homework due.

Anyway, the music of 1997 was awesome. It killed me to limit this to five songs so we may have to have a revisitation sometime.


Strongarm - Council of Perfection
Probably the best band of the 90's Spirit-Filled Hardcore movement. What's impressive (aside from delivering the pozzy Jesus message to people who were only interested in stomping each other with army boots) was the progressiveness of Strongarm's music. It wasn't speed, but neither was it slow and doomy. The music stopped, started, sped up, slowed down, sometimes slipped into something pretty, sometimes crushed your skull audio brutality, all with terrifically passionate vocals. For other examples, check out Strongarm on Myspace.
After the band broke up, four of the five members (everybody but the vocalist, basically) started Further Seems Forever.

Model Engine - Drawing Lines [Also called "Hang You Upside-down"]
There was no shortage of Christian rock bands in the 1990s, but Model Engine went about crafting their music more intelligently than their peers. Originally called Black Eyed Sceva, their songs dealt with God and Jesus and other aspects of Christianity, but in more worldly contexts. That is, they sang about AIDS and prostitutes and Mark Twain's sarcastic depictions of spirituality. This particular song is about first century martyrdom where early Christians did in fact draw fish in sand as a means of secret communication (because "if they find you out they'll hang you upside-down" on crosses, and this did indeed happen). But, like Strongarm, the message wasn't the only appeal. Musically they were all about song progression and shifting tempo and non-standard metre and fun little creative things like that, though this was more evident in their Sceva days.

Richard Buckner - Lil Wallet Picture
This is the first Richard Buckner song I ever heard and it's still one of my favorites. I like steel guitars, and this one, even though only sparingly used, bends out all the bitter and sad and wistful notes that amplify the thick stew of emotion this song conveys. Buckner's warbly yet rugged baritone, which is the very first thing you'll notice, does the same thing. In fact his voice alone could probably carry the song, but add that aching steel guitar, his own story-telling acoustic guitar, and a chuckling fiddle that doesn't seem to care about your pain, and you'll be a mess by the end of the song.

Neko Case - Somebody Led Me Away
The Virginian was Case's solo debut and doesn't carry the weight that her subsequent releases do, but there are some definite gems here. Half the songs are old country covers, and this one is the best (unless you really enjoy the boot-scootin' of "Honky-Tonk Hiccups"). Originally done by Loretta Lynn in 1976, Case here shows off her big voice, not even needing the group of backing singers that appeared in the original. Singing absolutely solo, then, enhances the mood of this song about the guilt of a woman NOT standing by her man. But don't worry, the guy in lyrical question is a douchebag and doesn't deserve Loretta Lynn or Neko Case.

Roadside Monument - On Molasses Lake
Roadside Monument is one of my all-time favorite bands. They were kind of a part of the 90s Christian rock band thing, but Christian bookstores would eventually quit carrying their music, so they kind of weren't. Anyway, reglardless of who would or wouldn't affiliate with them, the music of Roadside Monument is completely and wholly mindblowing. Especially on their final two albums, there's so much going on with each song that's it's hard to believe that only three guys are making all the music.
"On Molasses Lake" appeared on a split with Puller (an amazing band themselves). The song starts calmly enough with an ambling guitar, a low-key bass and sly unobtuse drumwork, followed by what I guess would be the instrumental "theme" (no verse-chorus-verses here) of the song paired with some call-and-response vocals (and here it's worth noting that the vocals of RM's songs are often like instruments themselves, not necessarily standing out but neither falling into the background -- all part of a musical picture). The song then takes a darkly pastoral route, mellow but tense, as things quiet down and the vocals hush. After half-a-minute of this the "theme" returns, now more effective than before as it comes fresh from that interlude. That ends, and just when it sounds like it's going to quiet down for another interlude... you're hit with the best explosive instrumentation this side of Mogwai and Explosions in the Sky. After steadily rattling the room for a while, everything suddenly stops to let Johnathon Ford's bass taunt you for a moment. Then things really pick up. The music becomes violent, Matt Johnson beats out a hasty rhythm on the drums and is pushed by Doug Lorig's abrasive (yet restrained) guitar. Finally the triumphant end. Up until this point the music had a dark edge to it, but in the final minute everything turns oddly hopeful (and remains fully loud). Johnathon Ford, I'm convinced, has the most tortured scream in all of music (listen to "S.R.B" for example) and here he about turns himself inside-out.
Just another awesome song by an awesome band.

The Letter N

As you may or may not remember/care, I've been profiling five bands/artists that begin with a particular letter. I started it over on my personal xanga site, did the letter M on the Bipedal prototype, and then got distracted and forgot all about the alphabet.

But now I'm back to let you know I can really shake 'em down.

N

The New Pornographers
I suppose it's a little weird that I heard of the band first and then Neko Case and AC Newman later. I work supergroups backwards. Anyway, peppy bouncy (yet perfectly restrained) indierock. For those of you expecting the sultry country stylings of Case you're going to be disappointed. For those of you expecting candycane rock 'n' roll... well, here you go. Their new album, from the bits I've heard at least, is more subdued (but no less awesome) then their previous releases.
"Myriad Harbour" .mp3 (via Matadorrecords.com)
"My Rights Versus Yours" .mp3 (via Matadorrecords.com)
"Twin Cinema" .mp3 (via Insound.com)
"The Laws Have Changed" .mp3 (via Insound.com)
[Note: for the tracks from Insound, you may have to physically type .mp3 at the end of the file name. Or you might not.]


A.C. Newman
Speaking of Mr. Newman...
His solo stuff is very similar to that of the New Pornographers (he is the band's principle songwriter), just not as zesty. That's not necessarily a bad thing as his solo style leaves the door wide open for introspection and soft little nuances.
Give the two songs on the A.C. Newman Matador page a listen.


Nurse & Soldier
An Oneida side-project, Nurse & Soldier is a male-female duo (though I think they've added more members now) specializing in foggy rhythmic fuzzrock. While the cloudy guitarwork may be reminicent of Oneida, the vocals and song presentaton are more pop oriented (though no less rewarding).
You can download the entire Nurse & Soldier 7" as well as an excellent hypnotizing track from their Marginalia album HERE.


Salim Nourallah
Some nice contemporary Texas-based folk music about love and unlove and 1978. There's nothing terribly striking about the music or the vocals, just sit back and enjoy the good songmanship. In fact at times Nourallah comes across as mellow George Harrison (as if George Harrison could be any mellower). Salim also has a brother named Faris who's got his own records too, and sometimes they'll record together as the Nourallah Brothers.
"The World is Full of People Who Want to Hurt You" .mp3 (via Insound.com)


The National
Low-key (but driving) indierock with some strings and stuff. Sounds about what Interpol would be if they went a different direction. You'll first notice the deep vocals (no sissy high notes here), then you'll notice the layers of surprisingly beautiful music. Sometimes a guitar or some sort of horn will pop out and say hi, and sometimes (like on "Slipping Husband") the band will for a brief moment go ballistic, but for the most part The National's music is pretty steady.
Three tracks are available for download on their website (along with a terrible picture of somebody's toes).
"All the Wine" .mp3 (via Insound.com)
"Son" .mp3 (via Insound.com)
"Beautiful Head" .mp3 (via Insound.com)

2007

The random number generator gave me the year 2007, and I must always yield to the random number generator. Hopefully this short list won't steal any thunder from whatever "best of 2007" countdown that I'll inevitably do in December or January.

Anyway, 2007 saw (and continues to see) me lean heavily towards remixes and post-punk dance rock, though plenty else caught my ear as well. Here are five jammin' tunes that deserve a listenin' to. This isn't a best-of-the-best list, and it's killing me to limit this to five songs. But again, something more complete and comprehensive regarding 2007 will show up in a couple months.

[Due to the intensely frustrating fact that Filegunner isn't workin' right now, I've had to link these songs from various elsewheres. This means that I don't know how long these tracks will be available for download, so get 'em while they're hot.]


Blonde Redhead - 23 [Linked from Inflightatnight.com]
Uh-oh, it's the number 23. Fortunately this song is much too blissful to drive me to madness. This is the the title track from their first full-length release in three years and though it may not be as great as their prior albums, this track and a couple others stand out. "23" (the song) is at the same time heavenly, slightly dark, catchy, and spacey. I like densely packed sound that envelops, but it's a rare thing that a song envelops and drives all at once. It's like a nebula with a V8 engine.


Klaxons - Golden Skans [From Dancehallhips]
Apparently this song was kind of a big deal in Britain. It might be a big deal here, but I'm a little bit out of touch. Anyway, "Golden Skans" short and to the point. I don't know what that point is, but it's dang catchy. Also, is "post-disco" a genre?


Midlake - Roscoe (Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve Remix) [From Badmintonstamps.com]
"Roscoe" originally appeared on The Trials of Van Occupanther, which was released in 2006. The song has a very rootsy vibe to it (equal parts folk, 70s, and modern indie) and initially doesn't appear as though it would lend itself to any sort of remix. But Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve (a duo I know next to nothing about) crafts it into perfection. The percussion, guitars, everything but the vocals are muted and draped across a soft electronic bed. The song itself is extended by a couple minutes, effectively enhancing the already mellowfied atmosphere.

Mob - Wait For Me [...And until I can get things working again you'll just have to stream some of their other excellent songs from their Myspace site.]
I first caught this one from the It's A Trap blog, but rediscovered it a few months later. I know very little about Mob -- they're Danish and the lead singer sounds like he's about to explode all over himself, what else do you need to know? -- but they've already made a great impact on the way I perceive music. If you're a stickler about your definition of "emo" then check these guys out. If you like intensely passionate (and passionately intense) music then check these guys out. If you like music, then check these guys out.


Aesop Rock - None Shall Pass (clean)
I only have the clean version because I snagged this one from the FREE Definitive Swim album. Not like you can easily sing along anyway, he's so powpowpow fast. Mr. Aesop strings together those multisyllabic words to create fascinating imagery-laden ideas that flow into eachother like a sweet groovin' river of poetry. Por ejemplo:

If you never had a day a snowcone couldn't fix,
you wouldn't relate to the rogue vocoder blitz.

Things like that.
I sure do like snowcones.

1990

Maybe I'm just a crabby old man, but 1990 wasn't such a great year for music. During this odd transition from the 1980s to the 1990s pop music was a disgusting hybrid between what was left of synthesized beats and the re-emergance of guitar-oriented music to come. If I controlled the calendars I would've skipped directly from December 1988 to January 1991. But even the grayest of clams can spawn a glisteny pearl. Here are five songs from five bands that knew better.



Depeche Mode - Policy of Truth
Violator is a great album. "Policy of Truth" is a great song from this great album. In fact I could have gone with any of the songs from Violator (although Personal Jesus was released as a single in 1989), but "Policy of Truth" is my current favorite.

Cocteau Twins - Iceblink Luck
I've only just discovered the Cocteau Twins (about twenty years too late). I don't know if this is true of many of their other songs, but the lyrics, though sung, are very conversational. The Scotsy slang and inflections crooned by vocalist Elizabeth Frazier are lovely (and indeed, if these same words were sung by a Scottish man then you'd end up with some sort of sea shanty).

Pixies - Velouria
This is a great song for many different reasons, not the least of these being the quivery theremin casually hanging out in the background.


Primus - Too Many Puppies
Best anti-war song ever.
Best worst album cover ever.
And puppies!





The Cure - Close to Me [Closest Remix] (.wma file)
Originally recorded in 1985, "Close to Me" was remixed (Paul Oakenfold doing the honors) for Mixed Up which, naturally, was an album of Cure remixes. There were actually two mixes of this song, the "Close Remix" and the "Closest Remix", which is what we're listening to here. This one appeared on the 7" single and cassette single, if you're interested. I think it's interesting that despite all the black garb and pseudo-goth make-up, The Cure made a lot of really bouncy songs.

MMFRR#9 -- Ralph Hinkley Syndrome

Often, in lieu of actual people wanting to be my Myspace friends, I get piles of friend requests from bands and musicians attempting to get me to check 'em out/attend their shows/join their street teams. Naturally a great bulk of these bands are awful and I want nothing to do with them. But yet the requests keep coming. As a mild form of revenge I have decided to review these bands. Welcome to another therapeutic entry of what I like to call Myspace Music Friends Request Review.

I know I'm always touting the glories of grunge, but sometimes it's just not 1992 anymore. And something that sounded good then sounds a bit silly and dated when reproduced in these modern times. Fortunately enough every musician alive during the late 80s/early 90s grunge era has matured stylistically to create new, unique, and exciting works of... oh, wait, no?

Something about a missed memo.
Something about Ralph Hinkley Syndrome.

After perusing their myspace page and reading their blogs and even watching that silly little video I got (and continue to get) the impression that these guys are super swell and probably cool to hang out with. Unfortunately only douchetards make the best artists and musicians. I bet if they punted some babies and quit smiling so dang much they'd notice a significant increase in musical quality. As it stands, though, I'm burdened with the guilt of giving a couple upright citizens a so-so Myspace Music Friends Request Review review.

Ralph Hinkley, as a matter of common knowledge, is the main character's name on The Greatest American Hero, which aired on ABC from 1981 to 1983. "Believe it or not I'm walking on air," etc. I don't know what kind of syndrome he may have had or induced, but I find the idea of a band referencing The Greatest American Hero either completely awesome or wholly stupid. I can't decide which. A rose by any other name, I suppose.

It's interesting how, despite the lameness of a lot of myspace bands, they usually have one decent song. It's as if they put all their effort and talent into one four-minute piece of music, then hastily put together some other pieces of mush to fill up space. RHS's decent non-mushy song is a nice one called "Travel". It's simple, got a good beat, and stays low-key enough not to drift off into suckiness. I wish understated music wasn't so ignored by those who are able to perform it well enough, but I guess sometimes it's a lot more fun to rock out.

Anyway, RHS is suffering a bit from time warp problems (maybe that's a symptom of the Syndrome), and consequently we're all stuck with some dated grungy stuff. Again, "Travel" is a keeper, but other than that I'm definitely NOT walking on air (believe it or not).

I give Ralph Hinkley Syndrome 3 alien red superhero outfits out of 10.