Summer Songwriting 9 – Caretaker
A Song that Most People Think Is Mute, Without Anyone Really Knowing for Sure – “Moments of Sufficient Lucidity” (2011) You wouldn’t think it when you hear “Moments of Sufficient Lucidity,” which for its fancy title is a piece of absolute simplicity — a track that seems to spin on itself and by itself like … Continue reading
SS8 – Electrelane vs. Sebadoh vs. Cults vs. Getting Old & Having Small Loose Pouches under the Pectorals
Reading Pitchfork’s (beautiful) “15 writers / 15 songs” retrospective feature the other day I couldn’t help but be perfectly, awfully crass and think about how old these geezers are. I’m done with college and all, more or less, but they were done with college in like, 2006 or something. I’m like, dude. I’m anti-old. Don’t … Continue reading
Summer Songwriting 7 – Nicolas Jaar
A Song that Started Smoking Because Godard Did It – “Too Many Kids Finding Rain in the Dust” When Space is Only Noise came out I was so enthused I swore it would be at the very top of my retrospective lists at the end of the year. Better than James Blake (more sensual). Groovier … Continue reading
SS6 – Black Keys vs. Iceage vs. Flying Motorized Vehicles
It’s a true, well-known, Earth-old fact that rockstars and motorized vehicles have had it in for each other. They’ve been at each other’s respectively unshaven (sometimes flea-bitten) and rumbling, steel-plated throats since the dawn of time — that is, since automotive mobility and delinquent musical racket emerged more or less simultaneously from the whole smoldering … Continue reading
Summer Songwriting 5 – Scritti Politti
A Song that’s Discovered the Meaning of Life in a Handclap — “Jacques Derrida” Today I’m happy. By which I mean ecstatic, rapt, taken far beyond the human realms of mere quotidian contentment. It was indeed a transcendent experience when I finally got my hands on a rare — the rarest — installment of the … Continue reading
Summer Songwriting 4 – Abba
A Song that Will Get Really, Badly Sunburned and Still Say It’s the Best Vacation Ever – “Sitting in the Palmtree” When Swedes get a little reggae shamble going, ingest something sweet and perfectly bubbly and well-balanced, flavor-wise, with like hints of a peach-colored organ and and a discreet violet-violin aftertaste, but with maybe just … Continue reading
Summer Songwriting 3 – J.J. Cale
A Song With Sweat on its Tan, Wrinkled and Leathery Forehead – “Tijuana” It’s hard to place exactly what makes me crazy about this song. Something tells me it’s actually the wood-block, I’m guessing is what it’s called, which in all its awesomeness is rarely used as a piece of prominent percussion, and which here … Continue reading
Summer Songwriting 2 – Ponytail
A Song to Multiply Your Imaginary Friends Into an Army at Least as Populous as North Korea’s – “Honey Touches” (2011) Now that I think about it, the reason why I found Ponytail’s recent and full-stop excellent (maybe a bit slack in the field of life-affirming maxims) latest album belligerent is because I didn’t expect … Continue reading
Summer Songwriting 1 – Araabmuzik
An Ear-Licking Song – “Streetz Tonight” (2011) Think about ice-cream cone ads for a second. Take your average sample and there’s a fair chance it’ll involve a girl, woman, take your gendered pick, which in the most lurid versions you’ll notice is automatically clad in a green or blue bikini that curves neatly around a … Continue reading
Payola (Radio Cure) 