As French as fries or toast

Very Boring.
Very American.
Great music, but only 15 seconds at a time.
Half-way through the film I was ready to operate the gillotine myself.

Midlake "The Trials of Van Occupanther"

Hans kept talking about this band, MIDLAKE, and then made me a mix cd with 3 or 4 of the songs on it. I was sold. Went out and got it on Monday and my iPod has been playing it non stop. I've even considered clearing my iPod of everything but Midlake.

The way this CD really got me is well described below in my previous post. I liked it, but there were really some things I hated about it. One of these things was when lead singer, Tim Smith, sings out the line, "I'm Van Occupanther! I'm Van Occupanther!" I thought, "That's lame sauce! How sucky! How obvious!" But after a few listens, I found myself on my bike, head back smiling, whimsically singing along to those very same lines believing that I, myself, was Van Occupanther!

A truly great album is one that you start out saying something like, "It's OK, but their drummer sucks! He ruins the album for me." And a week later, you're like, "That drummer is revolutionary! He's a visionary! He makes the album!" And that sort of epiphany happened for me when getting into this album, but it was more about some of their artistic choices that rubbed me the wrong way at first, but then I realized they were strokes of genius.

I think Van Occupanther is a real piece of genius, high art, greatness, what have you.

One of the greatest things about these guys is that they did not just hire some orchestral instrumentalists to back them up, these guys played the flute and the bassoon themselves throughout the record and it really colors things. And I love love love the synthesizers!

Hey, don't just take my word for it, check out what Earl says about Midlake:

"The Trials of Van Occupanther is now one of the most important modern records I own. In an age of overly-used irony and disconnected nonchalance, this record actually means something, and Midlake should be forever hailed for their unique and genuine approach to music. Simply put, Van Occupanther has backbone, and the fact that you don't feel cheated by it gives one hope that sincerity can still exist within modern alternative music."

Jason Lee, Star of My Name is Earl and Midlake Cohort

What makes a FANTASTIC record?

After over a decade of music fanboyism, concert going, magazine reading, and record collecting I have finally unlocked the secret to the timeless mystery: "What makes a great album?"

Here it is: If after a few listens the things that you hated about the record are now the things you love about the record- then it is officially FANTASTIC!

My work here is done.
Beam me up, Scotty!

New Pernice Bro.s Record Out

I got my Pernice Brothers CD in the mail yesterday PLUS my special fanboy pre-order bonus CD that was hand screenprinted and hand signed by Joe Pernice. On my sleeve the screenprinting was a little smeared and next to the smear he wrote"(shakey hand)". It's gonna be our little nest egg when I sell it for a million bucks on ebay. Not really. The Bonus CD is alternate mixes and demos. I thought the demos would be, like most, Joe with an acoustic guitar singing the songs into a 4track. The 4track part is correct, but it's a weird drum machine, a lot of electric guitars, and him just singing, "Da tee dum dum daaaah" through all of each song. So weird. I was kind of pissed. The alternate mixes are OK. They are mostly just the band pulled out of the mixes so it is just Joe, piano, and the orchestra. Also- they gave me hella stickers in my order! Dissapointed with the bonus fanclub disc, but the sleeve is pretty cool. I can feel your jealosy.

The album is pretty good. Not their best. Need more time with it. For now, here's a cool video for their single. It's kinda funny:

The Devil and Daniel Johnston

Watched this documentary last night about Daniel Johnston. He's sort of a skitzoid savant genius songwriter who has the voice of a little boy and sings very sweet, but tortured songs. Got himself famous by recording "albums" by placing a portable tape recorder against his piano and just playing/singing. The tapes just got passed around and passed around and this is all in the early 80s. Even made in on MTV in 1985 (only having played one real show) by ambushing a taping that was going on in his hometown.
Some questions I am left with: As a believer in Jesus who has a hard time understanding the devil, if this guy is really possessed and not just crazy, why would the devil pick this guy who is an outspoken christian (was even arrested for writing hundreds of christian fishes all over the inside of the statue of liberty in order to ward off the innevitable "military take-over")? ALSO: How synonymous are the words genius and crazy? The people in my life who I believed were even borderline genius couldn't hang socially. Van Gogh cut off his ear.

I think musicians and people interested in "spirit world" type stuff could/should watch this movie. I think musicians should definately have Daniel Johnston in their musical vocabulary and be able to reference his style/influence. I think spiritual people would have an interesting time cracking this egg.

New Song Posted

New song up on my Myspace page called "Fake #1 Dream".

Lyrics- some thoughts

Lyrics are really not the most important part of music for me. In fact- the less, the better. If you're gonna be wordy and obvious, you'd better be pretty friggin clever (i.e. Joe Pernice). Otherwise, I really like the abstract stuff where lyricists have some more "visual" words... sort of a lyrical impressionism. I'm very much into the whole "let the listener decide what it's about" thing.

So what kind of lyric really cinches the deal for me? Well, Jill and I were listening to the Promise Ring all day yesterday and a great example came up.

First, so I can make my point, pretend that words have no meaning- just sound. The only character is found in their sound and not in an attached definition. Then ask yourself what makes a good melody or musical phrase? Most people would say that when a short simple melody is played, but then repeated and as they are repeated, small variations are made on that one melody. Think about Marry Had A Little Lamb- it's basically one melody line of notes that is improved upon just slightly, but progressively. Now go back to my idea about words having no meaning and check this Promise Ring lyric out:

And she slept across the ocean
as we crossed the ocean.
And I got cross with the ocean.

from "saturday" on The Horse Latitudes EP

This is a good example, because this is nonsensical and really doesn't have meaning other than what you visualize in your mind. Anyway, it's a variation on a repeated lyric where CROSS and THE OCEAN are in every line, but improved upon progressively.

Also, for a frame of reference, he's been repeating (mumbling) the lines "She drank white wine. Makes me want to marry her memories madly." up until that point. Not a great set of lines but the fact that they are mumbled and repeated quietly until the song climaxes with loud guitars and the "cross the ocean" lyrics scream-sung, those opening boring lyrics set the stage for an exciting conclusion. BEAUTIFULLY done.

Anyway, there you go.

OK, so I just wanted a guitar like his.....

Jay Farrar looking tuff with a beard and my guitar.

Goodbye, old friend.

While searching Craigslist for building materials, I happened upon a guy selling a guitar that I've always wanted. I've always been content with my guitars. The only thing is that neither has a Bigsby (whammy bar), but I don't necessarily have the funds or the motivation to buy one and have it attached to either guitar. So I simply asked this guy if he would trade. I went out to the city last night and we swapped the SG for his guitar.

Now, I'm not super sentimental about my guitars. They are just expensive paintbrushes. A painter remembers his art, not his brushes. And the art I made with this guitar is precious. The upper right is a picture of me with my SG recording "We Frequent the Sky, Maurice" (click to listen) with Til Seven in 98/99, which has the ballsiest guitar sound ever made by anyone! Also the things I did and places I went with this guitar are what I'll remember. Above at the left is a pic of me with the SG playing at the Troubador in Hollywood in maybe 2000. Bought it in 96 or 97, so we've had 10 great years.

Happy trails, good buddy.........

So, introducing: my new Gretsch Electromatic Duo Jet (Pro Jet)!

This Made My Day

There's one at every show....


It just gets funnier......

JIM & PAM

Arright we could all use some Jim and Pam moments this time of the week.

Son Volt YouTubes from Bonaroo

CHICKAMAUGA- great neil young solo from JAY
Fantastic harmonies, too.
also- check out the hippe-spin-hand-dance movements in the foreground
there's at least one at every show


WINDFALL
I think the hippie chick moved to the front for this one.

I WON!!!!!

Holy crap! I won! Well, I won a CD give away from some local entertainment site/blog and won the new Magnolia Electric Co CD. Yes the one that they had on tour at that show (before the release date) and then sold out of before I bought one that night. The funny thing is that when I typed my email into that contest, it just kept saying "error: invalid address" and I kept typing it in and being like "whaaa?" but maybe I was really entering multiple times who knows? This also might be karma- in return for the Magnolia EP that got ruined with coffee in the car.

Anton Karas

Fantastic Zither music by Anton Karas. I saw the Third Man recently and was totaly inspired by the score. Go to my other blog here to see how it's impacted me. The video below is not so much a video as it is just a sound clip of Karas' "Harry Lime's Theme" being played on a vintage turntable. Click on it! It will make your day!

Crystal Lake

Is it just me or does/should everyone want to be like Jason Lytle of Grandaddy?

Taps

I went hiking with Jill in the Marin Headlands yesterday. As we were walking towards some small abandoned bunkers that once held gun turrets during WWII, we could here music coming from across a cove or inlet where another large bunker or barracks was. It was brass band music and it sounded like some funeral durge, like the ghosts of some army band was playing for their fallen camrades. Very much like the out-of-tune horn stuff in Neutral Milk Hotel. And the way the wind was catching it and modulating it and the way the sound was bouncing off the landforms twisted it and made it sound other-worldly. Truly ghostly.

When we got closer, we realized there was some sort of band camp. A YMCA inside the park was hosting it and the brass section of the marching band was practicing in what looks like an amphitheatre, but is really the base of where a gun turret once swivelled. The picture above/left is of that turret at the top of that very exposed bunker. As we walked on we saw the drum line and the color guard. For some reason, geeky teenagers wearing Columbine trench coats hitting tightly tuned snare drums as Magic the Gathering cards fall out of their pockets just isn't as cool as a troop of spooks playing taps from beyond.

Sometimes I would very much like to have field recording equipment.

My Record Collection

A pretty complete inventory of my record collection can be found HERE, if anyone's curious. I did this a couple weeks ago and it was really fun. It doesn't include most of my vinyl or some rare compilations and it doesn't include the CDs I married into.

"Pricks!"

Love how Bob introduces this song.... quite possibly one of the best pop songs ever written.
Don't believe me?

Robert Pollard


Guided by Voices at Ameoba

Review of Friday's show

On Friday Jill and I went to see Mates of State at the Greek Theater. They were openning for Spoon and Death Cab For Cutie. Mates went on right at 7:00 sharp before the majority of the people had even come in. Basically, the stadium was empty. We sat in the stands and watched happily as the yuppie set bought $16.95 cocktails, the hippie set wandered aimlessly, and a lot of parents escorted their teens and preteens. Kinda weird.

It felt like they only played for fifteen minutes. Most of their set lacked energy, as I think they feed a lot off of the crowd and the crowd wasn't giving them anything compared to the recent packed out bouncing, singing along, dancing crowd at the Great American Music Hall. It was an OK set and one highlight was how they smartly slipped that Gnarles Barkley song into the bridge of "Like You Crazy". They announced that they had two songs left, but only played one and were quickly swept off the stage.

Spoon played forgetful songs. Not sure how to describe their sound or style or genre. It's like when you put your drink cup under the Coke dispenser at a fast food stop and only the carbonated water comes out. No flavor. Sorry Spoon. Enjoy your Jaguars.

We stuck around to see what Death Cab was gonna do. They definately played the good stuff first (stuff from the Photo Album and the rare song "Photobooth"), but then they quicly fell into the pattern of sort of making fake endings to every song- slow it down, get very quiet. Then build it back slowly to sort of a climax and that got sort of old, when done in every song, so we took off.

MATES OF STATE "Fraud in the 80s" video


MATES OF STATE some footage that includes recording of "Ha Ha"


DEATH CAB Actual footage from the other night playing "Photobooth"

Book Talk I (Ask the Dust)

Recently one of my favorite books was made into a movie. It's called Ask the Dust by John Fante. It's a book about an 18/20-year-old Italian American who moves out on his own to LA during the depression to "make it" as a writer. He does things like blow all his money on stupid stuff so that he can't pay rent and has only oranges to eat. He falls in love with the impossible-to-get Camilla Lopez and does things like use racial slurs and being plain old disagreeable to get her attention. Their tumultuous relationship (or lack thereof) frames the time before the semi-autobiographical character Arturo Bandini really does make it as a writer by writing about Camilla.

I read this book when I had just moved out on my own and had no money and was trying to make it as a musician and in my career. I did stupid stuff and I said stupid stuff and I felt just as bold, indestructible and yet stupid all at the same time- just like Arturo Bandini. I was so into this book, I even thought I would name my first son Arturo Bandini Gidlund because I felt so connected with this character.

Then came Colin Farrell and Selma Hayek to ruin everything for me. Watching two folks pushing 40 playing two characters who were written to be at least 20 years younger was pathetic! Ebert and Roper gave it thumbs down because they couldn't figure out why two people would insult each other and put each other down in such an immature way if they really loved each other. The answer is that that's how it works when you're 18, 19, 20. That age group is like a 2nd adolescence and love is interrupted by insecurity.

Besides that, their acting was melodramatic and half-ass. The whole story was changed. And the whole theme of growing out of an insecure youth through experience to reach real goals in a new-found adulthood is thrown out with the bathwater.

Donald Southerland does a fantastic Job as the gin loving Helfrick, but they left out the part where Helfrick takes Arturo to "get a steak" and drives him out into the countryside and smashes a calf's head in and makes Arturo help him get it back into the car. Hilarious! And I'm glad they put the Vera character in the movie (Arturo's scarred [think Sun Also Rises] and domineering 1st sexual experience) but in the book, she more like seduces Arturo rather than guilts him into sex.

Anyways, don't ever watch this movie. It will liquify your brain. However, I think Ask the Dust is an American Classic and Fante is overlooked as being one of the greatest Californian writers. Kiddin me? I'd put him right below Steinbeck.

MOVIE TRAILER:


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Also, yesterday was our third wedding aniversary and Jill posted a great Creeley poem on her blog that was printed on our wedding program.