I have long advocated for separating an artist from his work. I listen to Michael Jackson without the slightest twinge of guilt, and I watch Roman Polanksi’s movies without the slightest twinge of guilt.

But “separate” is key. Had Michael Jackson been convicted of child molestation, I would have supported his punishment. Being a talented artist should not give you a pass for repellent and criminal behavior.

The case of Roman Polanski is especially disturbing. His guilt is not in question. He gave a thirteen-year old girl alcohol and drugs, and then anally raped her. He knew her age. He also knew what the word “no” meant.

For normal people, the fact that it was a long time ago is irrelavant–Catholic priests are routinely prosecuted for decades-old crimes. However, the “arts community” seems to believe that their elite members deserve a pass for such trifles as sodomizing an unwilling minor. Sadly, the list of people rallying to the defense of this creepy rapist includes many whose works I admire.

So far as I know, there has been only one American artist of prominence who has stated the obvious. That is Jewel, who posted to her Twitter page:

Polanski-admitted raping a 13 yr old-whys every1 in the arts upset hes facing jail? cause hes a gifted director? what am i missing?

Thank you, Jewel, for bringing the common sense and decency that seem to elude so many of your fellow artists, causing them to support someone who drugged and anally raped a thirteen-year old girl.

Jewel asked in her first hit, “Who Will Save Your Soul?” Who indeed? Who will save Polanski’s soul? Who will save the souls of his defenders? I know this statement is contradictory: They better pray that there is no God.

The Raveonettes’ last album, Lust Lust Lust, was one of my favorites from last year. This number, from their upcoming record In and Out of Control, features a somewhat cleaner sound and an overwhelming amount of sweetness.

The album comes out next week.

Via Stereogum.

Via Pitchfork.

It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from Mr. Stevens. This live video has me looking forward to his next record.

I’ve always told people that I wanted to start a band that mixed Bluegrass and Punk Rock.  Most people looked at me like I was crazy, but now one band has made sense out of the idea.

For those that haven’t heard the Avett Brothers, they combine bluegrass and country instrumentation with a punk-ethos to form their own style of music.  They have a simple live setup, consisting of four band members rotating through acoustic guitar, banjo, piano, a hodgepodge of drums, violin, and cello.  Overall, the music lands somewhere in between the Band, Old Crow Medicine Show, and early Ryan Adams.

Now, I’m not usually the type of person to buy in to hype.  I’ve even been known to drop a band once they “make it big”.  With the Avett Brothers, it’s a little bit different for me.  I only recently discovered them after an article in Paste magazine caught my attention.

The band’s story of small town roots, insanely devoted work ethic (and subsequently insanely devoted fans), and an indifference to major label success really hit home with me.  But then again, isn’t that every good band’s story?

So after a month or so, I stumbled across the single “I and Love and You“ and was immediately hooked.  I went out and got their 2007 release, Emotionalism and I’ve honestly not been able to keep the Avett’s out of my rotation since.  The songs are extremely well crafted, in terms of melody, lyrics, and musicianship… which is a deadly combination.  Mainly dealing with relationships, heartbreak, and “the road”, nearly every song on Emotionalism has the kind of lyrics you immediately relate to and a hook that you wake up singing.

But that was Emotionalism, and now comes their major label debut, I and Love and You.

Working with producer Rick Rubin, the Avett Brothers latched onto the emotional side of their hybrid bluegrass/ punk style and added a TON of instrumentation.  Relying heavily on the piano, songs like “Kick Drum Heart” are more indie-pop than country or bluegrass.  Still, other songs like “Ten Thousand Words” are hook-laden back road anthems.  The best track on the record (in my opinion), is the ballad “Laundry Room”, reminiscent of Wiskeytown’s Pneumonia, but somehow morphs into a hoedown.  Another part of the music that Rubin was able to bring out is the use of harmonies between brothers Seth and Scott Avett, as evident on the title track and first single.

So, long story short, I and Love and You is extremely addicting record, and probably won’t leave my playlist for a while.  I also broke down and bought an $85 single day pass to the Austin City Limits Festival next Friday just to see their set.

The album comes out next Tuesday, but you can stream it now at NPR: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112973444

The summer of 2009 has seen an unusual amount of high-profile celebrity deaths.

Mary Travers of Peter, Paul, and Mary passed away yesterday at 72 after a long battle with leukemia. 

Peter, Paul, and Mary – “Blowin’ in the Wind”

Jim Carroll, poet, musician, and author of The Basketball Diaries, passed away last Friday of a heart attack.  He was 59.

Jim Carroll Band – “People Who Died”

Actor, dancer, heartthrob, and occasional singer Patrick Swayze succumbed to pancreatic cancer at the age of 57.

Patrick Swayze – “She’s Like the Wind”

New York-based band fun. have released their debut record, Aim and Ignite, and I am an unabashed fan (thanks, Kirsten, for the heads up!).  Formed by Nate Ruess, previously the lead singer of The Format, fun. shares some of the unabashed pop sensibilities of that band.  However, as opposed to the straight up guitar power pop of The Format, fun. takes things in an outlandish direction of magnified sugar and, well, fun.  Pulling out all the stops, Ruess channels Freddie Mercury at almost every turn, and the arrangements of the songs at times veer from A Night at the Opera on speed to Caribbean-tinged bounce to sweet, symphonic strings liberally garnished with Sgt. Pepper-style horns.  The most obvious comparison that will inevitably be made here is with The Darkness, as fun. shares the same tongue in cheek throwback style, but none of it really ever comes off as an act like The Darkness often did for me. 

Opening track “Be Calm” is anything but what the title suggests, and it’s one of the better lead-off tracks I’ve heard on an album in quite some time.  The song begins with a quite beautiful string and accordion intro before Ruess breaks in with his faux-classical vocals.  What follows is a wild four minute ride of shifting tempos and some pretty incredible vocal turns from Ruess, as well as the aforementioned horn.  When the electric guitar kicks in, the song really takes flight, taking the listener on a manic ride as Ruess sings about paranoia (The beggars near bodegas grin at me/I think they want something/I close my eyes, I tell myself to breathe).   “All The Pretty Girls” is the most straight forward rock song here, and the Queen comparisons here are apt (in no way is that meant as a negative; I love Queen!).  The heavily overdubbed backing vocals are reminiscent of “Killer Queen” and “Bohemian Rhapsody”, but the melody itself is also reminiscent of the underrated early 90’s band Jellyfish.  Another obvious standout is “At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)”, an incredibly catchy and childlike song that copies the melody of a playground taunt as Ruess sings about abandoning friends and lovers in his relentless pursuit of the rock (I don’t keep friends,I keep acquainted).

I can absolutely see fun. as a love them or hate them kind of band, just as The Darkness were before them.  It’s difficult for a band to make such unapologetically bombastic pop songs without experiencing at least some measure of backlash.  However, there is a depth to fun.’s songs, a sincerity and underlying emotion in their lyrics, that belies a band with more than just a gimmick behind their sound.  This is further demonstrated on some of Aim and Ignite’s quieter tracks, such as “The Gambler” and “Light A Roman Candle With Me.”  These tracks are driven by not much more than Ruess’s vocals and a piano, and they manage to convey both playfulness and maturity at the same moment, indicating that there just might be more to fun. than their band name implies.

**UPDATE** - Apparently Roger Joseph Manning, Jr., the former keyboardist for Jellyfish, is responsible for the arrangements on Aim and Ignite, so I guess my Jellyfish comparison was apt.  The Jellyfish influence can be heard throughout the album.

fun. – “Be Calm”

fun. – “At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be)”

hyperstory is the moniker adopted by L.A. musician C. Scott Blevins for his self-titled debut album.  The album was recorded over two years in multiple locations and includes guest performances by many musicians.  Blevins himself performs guitar on the album and is responsible for the arrangements and sampling work.

The album has a promising beginning, with the too brief instrumental intro “Prelude” adopting a dusty western theme with a lonesome whistler and a hazy desert vibe.   Unfortunately, this Calexico-like track only lasts for less than a minute and is not fully explored.  The first proper song on the record is the single “A Happening,” an engaging and fairly simple pop tune with a few nice ideas, such as the childlike “la la la la” call and response midway through.  It has a kind of Fastball/Spoon feel that is always appealing to this Austinite.  The major misstep in this song occurs when Blevins appends a repetitive, almost two minute coda that stretches what should be a three minute pop song past the five minute mark.  The same problem is repeated later on “”Will It Ever Change”, but this track stumbles even further with its verse melody that almost outright copies “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.”  Only two other tracks on the album, “Something Good” and”A Reckoning”, contain vocals, and none match up to the catchiness of “A Happening”, although “A Reckoning” does have an admittedly hooky chorus. 

At first, I felt that this release would perhaps have worked better as an EP, since only four of the nine songs contain vocals, but since Blevins isn’t a singer, I had to re-examine it as a release from a musician.  Even from this standpoint, I feel the same way since the instrumental tracks add nothing to the record.  “Ascension” is basically a throwback theme to a 70’s cop show without any hint of an updated take on the material.  The instrumentation and arrangement are fine, but what is it doing on this album?  The same goes for the closing track, the appropriately titled “End Story”, which is an ambient whistling chillout that at least seems less out of place than “Ascension”, but still doesn’t add any value to the album as a whole.  There are also two inexplicable tracks that contain no music at all.  One is a rant from an apparent street preacher, and the other is literally a person walking up a flight of stairs, then unlocking and opening an apartment door.  So upon further review, even without removing the instrumentals, there are only six full tracks.  Should have been an EP.

hyperstory will be released on November 10, 2009.

hyperstory – “A Happening”

Over there years, there has been a strange  bond between the NFL and music that seems to be growing .  Of course, there is always the Super Bowl halftime show… some being more controversial than others.  It makes sense when you consider that both are forms of entertainment, but the spread of Fantasy Football is a whole different ball game, so to speak.

Apparently, ESPN is mixing the world of Rock Music and Fantasy Football by putting together a league consisting several music legends, as well as a few sports writers. Here’s a list of participating “Rock Stars” and their team names:

Aroma of Tacoma – Jerry Cantrel (Alice in Chains)
M.I Evil? Yes I Am – Mike Inez (also of Alice in Chains)
McKagan D - Duff McKagan (Guns ‘N Roses, Velvet Revolver)
Mean Machine – Scott Ian (Anthrax)
The Brickwall - Vinnie Paul (Pantera)
Team 9 – Kenny Arnoff (Elton John, Smashing Pumpkins, the Rolling Stones)
KWS Domination – Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Doom Crew Inc. – Zakk Wylde (Ozzy Osbourne, Black Label Society)

Of course, it’s all “for charity”, although it sounds like they’re has been a fair amount of smack talking so far.  Each participant is donating an item to a charity that the winner of the league will chose.  If you’re a Fantasy Football dork like me, and think this is hilarious, you can go check out the league page and keep up with their season: http://games.espn.go.com/ffl/leagueoffice?leagueId=547015

Public Image Ltd. are reuniting for a series of shows.

Reading that news today prompted me to reminisce about the role PiL played in my development as a music fan.

I grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere that only had a handful of radio stations. The only station that played rock and roll was fairly conservative–Top 40 and classic rock. So Top 40 and classic rock was pretty much all I knew until 1987.

Two videos on MTV that year changed my life forever. The first was New Order’s “True Faith,” which actually did crack the Top 40 and so got a couple of plays on the local station. The other was PiL’s “Seattle.”

While both songs are terrific, there really isn’t anything notable about them by 1980’s “alternative” (I hate that word) standards.  But to a kid with extremely limited exposure to music by virtue of geography, they sounded revolutionary. I went to school the day after I heard “Seattle” and raved about it to a buddy of mine. He had a cool older sister and hence a lot more exposure to this kind of stuff, so he gave me  the rundown on the band–how it was the dude from the Sex Pistols and all. And that event set me on my life’s path of exploring music beyond the Top 40. Soon I was trading tapes with the skater kids and watching 120 Minutes when I could stay up late enough.

PiL put out one classic album, 1979’s dark and challenging Metal Box, before moving in a poppier direction. They were too inconsistent to be considered anything close to a great band, but they did drop a fair number of killer singles over their checkered career.

And we’ll always have “Seattle.”

Public Image Ltd. – “Seattle”

We now have a Twitter account. You can see the feed in the right sidebar. It will be used to highlight articles and blog posts from other sites that we find interesting but don’t feel like writing a full post about.

I was excited when I learned that Sonic Youth was leaving longtime label DGC for Matador–the band that doesn’t put out bad albums has joined the label that doesn’t put out bad albums! Seemed like a match.

I was wrong about that. Not that The Eternal is bad, because it’s not. It’s that The Eternal sounds like it was recorded on the cheap, as befits a minor label (albeit a fairly major one). After nearly two decades of a nice, full, Geffen corporate-whore sound, The Eternal is tinny and hollow in comparison. The crappy sound buries the subtleties that are amongst the great joys of Sonic Youth’s best music. Note to Matador: “Lo-fi” isn’t cool now and it wasn’t cool in the mid-’90s either–it’s just a hipster excuse for crappy-sounding music that wouldn’t sound crappy if a good producer had got hold of it.

“So,” you ask, “now that you’re done with the rant, how are the songs?”

The answer is that the songs are solid. Sonic Youth notch one classic in “Anti-Orgasm,” perhaps not coincidentally a rocker where the sound is not a detriment. Kim Gordon continues the renaissance that began with 2006’s Rather Ripped, and it’s great to have her back after a long dry spell–she shines on album closer “Massage the History” and elsewhere.

Sonic Youth really do deserve to be ranked up there with rock and roll’s greatest bands–yes, I’m talking Beatles and Stones status. That will never happen, because they never sold all that many records and lack mass appeal (to put it mildly). Since they hit their stride in 1985 with Bad Moon Rising, they haven’t released a bad album, and have graced the world with several classic or near-classic records. The Eternal is a lesser Sonic Youth album, but even a lesser Sonic Youth album is worth your time. More’s the pity that this one could have been so much better. SY: Please find a new producer, and, if necessary, a new label.

Sonic Youth – “Sacred Trickster”

Sonic Youth – “Anti-Orgasm”

Seattle band Throw Me the Statue are a difficult band to classify.  Sure, there’s the catch-all “indie pop” label that could easily be applied, but that’s not the classification I am talking about.  This band is a chameleon, and their latest effort, Creaturesque, is one hell of a shapeshifter of a record.  Opening track “Waving At The Shore,” with its bouncy melody and horns, immediately recalls The Cure’s “Close To Me.”  The shuffling psychedelia of “Tag” and the bouncy pop of “Dizzy From The Fall” are dead ringers for The Shins.  “Ancestors” is a great (if slightly out of fashion) imitation of a Joy Division/Interpol song, with lead singer Scott Reitherman sounding eerily like Ian Curtis at points.  Deliciously sugary guitar tune “Hi-Fi Goon” unabashedly copies the style of fellow northwesterners Built to Spill, throwing in a bit of Blur and Pavement for good measure.  Before the album’s close, we also have what sound like dead-on imitations of Beck in his Mutations/Sea Change acoustic mode (“Baby, You’re Bored”) and Neil Young (“Shade For A Shadow”).  These are all pretty impeccable influences to have, and it’s understandable when a band makes obvious reference to the groups that inspired them.  However, Throw Me the Statue haven’t yet found a way to blend together the elements of their influences into a cohesive or defining sound of their own.  The result is a collection of songs that sound like individual tributes to other bands rather than ones that build an identity for their creators.

That said, you may be shocked to read that I really enjoy this album.  Reitherman sure as hell knows how to write a hook.  Each of these songs stands on its own in terms of songwriting, and the result is akin to a really great mix tape.  Reitherman’s lyrics are fragmentary and not easily decipherable, but most of the songs and Reitherman’s vocal delivery have a laid-back, hippie vibe, giving the record a great summer feel.  Aside from the aforementioned “Hi-Fi Goon,” the other stand out track on Creaturesque comes when Throw Me the Statue take a step away from their influences and create something entirely their own on closing track “The Outer Folds.”  The song kicks off with a soft, walking drum beat, which is then greeted with a lazy but engaging keyboard hook before giving way to Reitherman’s chill out vocals and a dreamy chorus.  The resulting product is perfect for a lazy summer day floating on the river or lounging in the sun.  With Creaturesque, Throw Me the Statue have remained a bit too chained to their myriad influences, but even the obvious imitations are put together with enough talent and intelligence to still make up a highly enjoyable summer album.  It won’t change your life, but so what?  What is this, a Zach Braff movie?

Throw Me the Statue will be playing with Brunettes at the Mohawk in Austin on 9/11/09.  If you don’t go to this show, the terrorists have won.

Throw Me the Statue – “Hi-Fi Goon”

Throw Me the Statue – “Ancestors”

This is without a doubt the best KISS song I have ever heard.  Hands down!

I promise another real post tomorrow.  Sorry for slacking!

Despite the strange post-60s obsession with musicians writing their own songs, the fact of the matter is that sometimes a song written by one artist is best interpreted by another.

In the case of the Smittens and the Just Joans, the evidence on this delightful EP strongly suggests that both bands might be best off abandoning recording their own songs and instead swapping them with the other.

The Smittens cover the Just Joans “What Do We Do Now,” and it’s terrific, my favorite song of the year so far. Twee vocals somewhat disguise a longing for a younger, less complicated time–a time that the desperate, melancholy lyrics give no quarter to:

What do we do now?
Now we’re ten years older,
The bands we loved are dead.

and

Do you still drink
Down ‘t the local?
Is the local
Still the local?

It’s masterful.

(I think anyone will enjoy it, but it’s particularly recommended to fans of the Vaselines.)

“What Do We Do Now” is followed up by the Smittens’ original “Summer Sunshine,” which is pleasant enough, but sounds like a wimpier version of the Pooh Sticks (yes, I didn’t think I could conceive of such a thing, either).

Next, the Just Joans cover the Smittens’ “Gin and Platonic.” A mournful female-sung verse moves into a mournful male-sung chorus that liberally references the Go-Go’s great “Vacation,” only with the pop sheen entirely stripped off.

The Just Joans win the originals competition with “I Hear Your the Man Now, John,” a spiteful, jealous little number that ups the happiness quotient not at all. A fine track, but, again, it doesn’t compare to the song they covered.

This split EP is a product of WeePOP! Records, which describes itself as:

a DIY indiepop record label based in London. We’re dedicated to limited run, lovingly hand crafted, assembled and numbered, wee tactile packets of lo-fi POP! A label for all us record geeks, who still love to hold something in our hands, something collectible, something special and tactile – something to awe over, to read and thumb through while listening to our newly purchased music! Powered by bedroom diy ethics, this is our love for music and bands and our love of being music fans, doing something for the bands of whom we adore their music. This is about us giving something back, and about having fun doing it.

They’re doing something right. This EP was quite the pleasant surprise. I look forward to hearing their other releases.

Nothing out there to embed, but you can hear both “What Do We Do Now” and “Gin and Platonic” at the WeePOP! Records MySpace Page. I strongly encourage you to do so.

Posted in Album Reviews Tagged: Gin and Platonic, I Hear Your The Man Now John, Summer Sunshine, The Just Joans, The Smittens, WeePOP! Records, What Do We Do Now ]]> http://ondeafears.com/2009/09/02/review-split-ep-by-the-smittens-and-the-just-joans/feed/ 0 Gordon Winslow smittens just joans EP http://ondeafears.com/2009/08/29/a-discussion-of-candle-in-the-wind/ http://ondeafears.com/2009/08/29/a-discussion-of-candle-in-the-wind/#comments Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:10:05 +0000 Gordon Winslow http://ondeafears.com/?p=7025 ]]>

Gordon Winslow: Of course she didn’t know who to cling to when the rain set in…if she’s a freaking CANDLE! Candles don’t have arms or a brain. He may as well have written “Seems to me you lived your life like a log.” It would have made just as much sense. What a terrible simile.

Jason Austinite: I have always interpreted those as separate statements. She lived like a candle in the wind. End of simile. She also never knew who to cling to when the rain set in. Anyhoo, the song has much better lyrics than “Crocodile Rock.” Or “Cheddar Cheese Girl.”

GW: That’s a generous interpretation. I don’t buy it, but let’s say you’re right. What does it mean? The only hint is that she, like a candle, burned out, but a candle in the wind would blow out, not burn out, so what’s the wind got to do with it?

Also, candles don’t snuff themselves. Maybe Bernie Taupin is a conspiracy theorist and meant to write “blew out” instead of “burned out,” with the wind representing the Kennedys.

Foley: Actually… Gordon… A slight wind (not enough force to “blow out” the flame) would cause the candle to “burn out” at a much quicker rate. Increased oxygen -> hotter flame –> candle wax melts quicker and candle burns out at accelerated rate… OMG this is a stupid conversation… killme… killme now

GW: Excellent point, Foley. If we combine that with Jason’s interpretation, we have a working simile. I still have problems with it, but at least it approaches making sense.

I still like my Kennedys theory, though.

Jeff: She lived her life like a candle in the wind. She would flicker, constantly changing depending on outside factors – but not necessarily blow out. To me it signifies something that never set. Not knowing who to cling to is separate – reiterating her lack of foundation when trouble sets in. Her “candle” that blew out at the end of the chorus is completely different. You need to get a job.

KT: LMAO @ status message.

KT: Ha, and ensuing conversation.

Elton John – “Candle in the Wind”

Misfits (Actually Glenn Danzig solo, but generally credited to the Misfits) – “Who Killed Marilyn?”

Posted in Filler Tagged: Bernie Taupin, Candle in the Wind, Elton John, Glenn Danzig, Marilyn Monroe, Misfits, Who Killed Marilyn? ]]> http://ondeafears.com/2009/08/29/a-discussion-of-candle-in-the-wind/feed/ 0 Gordon Winslow http://ondeafears.com/2009/08/25/a-few-words-on-les-paul/ http://ondeafears.com/2009/08/25/a-few-words-on-les-paul/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 05:31:58 +0000 normalnorman http://ondeafears.com/?p=7022 ]]>

If it’s true that the most important thing a man leaves behind is his name, then Les Paul left behind a legacy that will be around for a very long time.

August 13th, 2009 marked the end of one of the most inspiring lives in the history of American music.  Les Paul, father of the modern electric guitar and inventor of much of the equipment and methods of modern recording, passed away at the age of 94.  He died of complications from pneumonia, but up until his final weeks, still mantained a weekly gig near his home in White Plains, NY.

Born Lester William Polsfuss, on June 9, 1915 in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Les was already a semi-professional guitar player at the age of 13.  He played and toured with music legends like Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby.  In the early 1940’s, Les built his first prototype solid-body electric guitar, which he called “the log”.  Gibson Guitars first declined his design, but came back to Paul after some refinement and after the competition, Leo Fender, released the first mass produced solid-body electric guitar, the Fender Broadcaster.

In 1948, Paul began experimenting with recording techniques.  Using two disc machines, he created the first multi-tracked recording, paving the way for modern studios.   The same year, however, Les Paul nearly lost one of his most important assests.  After suffering a near-fatal car crash, Paul nearly lots his right arm.  Accoring to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Paul “shattered his right arm and elbow, and he also broke his back, ribs, nose and collarbone.”  Rumor has it that the doctor wanted to amputate his arm, but Les told him to do his best to set in a position that he could still play guitar and leave it.  After a year and a half of recovery, he was able to play again.

In 1952, in the midst of his comeback, he  created the first 8-track tape recorder, the Gibson Les Paul Standard, and the Gibson Les Paul gold-top.  Pretty good year, I would have to say.  Of all his inventions, Paul had this to say in a New York Times interview: ““Honestly, I never strove to be an Edison.   The only reason I invented these things was because I didn’t have them and neither did anyone else. I had no choice, really.”

In 1978, Les Paul was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and in 1988, the Rock  and Roll Hall of Fame.  Toward the end of his life, Paul suffered arthritis and several other health complications, including a quintuple-bypass heart operation.  Through all of this, Les Paul continued creating music and new inventions.

A Knight’s Tale, starring the late Heath Ledger, is a love-it-or-hate it film. I fall in the “love” category–I thought it was well acted, clever, and, above all, charming beyond belief. Repeat viewings have only enhanced my appreciation.

One of the things those that fall into the “hate” category complain about is the film’s use of music. Rather than make some probably-futile attempt at recreating Medieval music, A Knight’s Tale instead sets its saga of action and romance to a soundtrack of 1970s (mostly) rock.

It is a bit jarring, upon first viewing, to see a crowd of rowdy peasants singing along with “We Will Rock You” as their favorite knights are about to joust. But it’s not a mere gimmick.

The scene that clues the audience in to what writer/director Brian Helgeland is up to is also perhaps the most memorable scene in the movie. To set the scene (very minor *spoiler*), the ill-born William (Ledger) is pretending to be a nobleman, and gets a chance to attend a dance with Lady Jocelyn (Shannyn Sossamon).

Not knowing how to dance, he has to fake it, with assistance from Jocelyn. As they begin to dance, the band strikes up period music. This music morphs into David Bowie’s “Golden Years” as the room takes up the dance.

The dancers aren’t hearing “Golden Years.” They’re hearing the period music, which would have had the same effect on their ears and feet as “Golden Years” has on ours. The jousting fans aren’t actually chanting “We Will Rock You,” but rather a fourteenth-century equivalent that we can never know.

(If the film clip gave you a hankering for the full-length version, you can listen to that here.)

Quentin Tarantino’s new film, Inglorious Basterds, also puts Bowie to memorable anachronistic use. The film’s soundtrack is mostly comprised of a score that references the period and Tarantino’s influences in making the film, but in one powerful, crucial sequence, he uses Bowie’s “Putting Out Fire.”

It’s a tremendously inspired creative choice. It will do to “Putting Out Fire” what some of Tarantino’s other films did to a number of obscure songs–be prepared to hear it a lot in the near future.

Why is David Bowie the go-to guy for anachronistic music? Was Tarantino inspired by A Knight’s Tale? I have no idea.

Notes:

• Technically, “Putting Out Fire” is “Cat People (Putting Out Fire).” It’s from the 1982 film Cat People starring Nastassja Kinski.
• Bowie re-recorded “Putting Out Fire” for his hit 1983 album, Let’s Dance. It’s not nearly as good, but it does have Stevie Ray Vaughan on guitar for those of you who like Stevie Ray Vaughan. You can hear that version here.
• My review of The Inglorious Bastards, the 1970s Italian war movie that inspired Inglorious Basterds, can be found here.

I really don’t know very much about French pop music outside of Serge Gainsbourg/Brigitte Bardot and Alizée (the latter for hotness factor alone; I couldn’t even hum one of her songs).  But a prerequisite in French pop is not necessary to listen to and enjoy the latest record by French band Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.  Indeed, if their press didn’t constantly mention their Frenchiness, I would have never known they were French at all.  French.

In their album title and in the title of the lead-off track (“Lisztomania”), Phoenix reference an 18th and 19th century composer, respectively, one considerably more famous than the other.  However, Franz Liszt was one of the first pop stars of his time, greeted at concerts by squealing women in an age where such things were uncommon.  So, what do these two composers have to do with this record?  That’s a difficult question to answer.  While the lyrics of all of the songs are in English, their brief, fragmented statements do not easily reveal an underlying meaning apart from some common themes of past, present, and future.  Looking to the music may be the best way to discern the meaning behind the references.  Mozart was a rigid perfectionist, and some of that comes out in the meticulously produced pop of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.  Phoenix have crafted obsessively arranged little pop tunes in which each stacatto piano or synth piece weaves intricately into the accompanying guitar stabs, bouncy drum rhythms, and vocal yelps of frontman Thomas Mars.  It’s those same yelps that seem to point towards the Liszt reference.  Liszt was known in particular for his fiery interpretations of Mozart’s songs, among others, consciously adding his own emotions and disregarding classicist formality to make an impact with his audience.  Viewed in that respect, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix comes off as a philosophical exercise in striking the balance between tradition and growth, reason and emotion, respect and fame.  Phoenix themselves have evolved through several different identities since their 2000 debut.  This record appears to be their approximation of making music that remains respectable to purists while still making an effort to break into the mainstream.  Of course, I could be wrong about all of that.

Overall, this is a good record, and it contains many enjoyable songs, with “Lisztomania”, “1901″, and “Lasso” being the standouts.  However, it seems to me that the meticulous structure of the songs wins out a little bit over the emotion, making for fun but slightly mechanical pop that is easy to respect and enjoy, but not quite as easy to fall in love with.

Phoenix – “1901″

Before this review begins, I think everyone should take just a moment to bask in the glory of that album cover, featuring Neko squatting in battle pose on the hood of a Mercury while wielding a longsword.  Pure awesome.

Neko Case is an artist who refuses to remain stagnant.  In an alternate universe, it is not difficult to imagine Cases’s career going in a different direction, with Case playing up her red-headed beauty and deep, resonant voice into a vampy, country-fried burlesque goddess.  While any red-blooded male may lament the fact that her career has not followed that path, Case herself is far too intelligent, talented, and ambitious to pigeonhole herself into such a stifling role.  With each subsequent release following her debut album The Virginian, Case has evolved as a songwriter, gradually eschewing the confines of genre and conventional song structures.  Her last release, 2006’s Fox Confessor Brings The Flood, saw Case testing the waters of the sound that would come to make up her follow up, while still tenuously clutching on to the alt-country comforts that have permeated her songs since the beginning.  Now, with the release of Middle Cyclone, Case has completed her metamorphosis, emerging from her cocoon a more complex and beautiful creature, fully equipped with colorful wings to carry her listeners into flight.

You’ll have to excuse the nature imagery.  It must be infectious, for, as on Fox Confessor, Case’s lyrics have become increasingly complex and poetic, and she often uses man’s struggle with nature as metaphors for her stormy, mostly feminine protagonists.  Opening song “This Tornado Loves You” imagines a twister as an angry, searching lover whose rage at losing the object of its desire is the cause of vast destruction (“I carved your name across three counties, and ground it in with bloody hides”).  “People Got A Lotta Nerve”, like a sequel to “The Tigers Have Spoken”, uses the perspective of a murderous zoo animal as a stand-in for an unapologetic woman (“I’m a man eater, and still you’re surprised when I eat ya”).  While Case’s powerful songwriting anchors this album, the standout track is actually a cover of the 1974 tune “Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth” by Sparks, featuring intense percussion and huge, choir-like backing vocals.  The song highlights Case’s voice, as well as the themes and adventurous arrangements that permeate the album’s other tracks.  The instrumentation on Middle Cyclone stretches past Case’s previous comfort zone of acoustic and slide guitars, introducing strings, music boxes, pianos and other instruments that provide a dark undercurrent to Case’s often haunting lyrics.

With references to elephants, killer whales, ants, and a variety of birds, it still comes as a slight surprise that the final track on the Middle Cyclone consists of nothing but a thirty minute recording of frogs chirping in Case’s backyard.  While this choice has been derided by many critics (the single closing track is nearly as long as all the other tracks combined), it serves as an oddly peaceful finish to this stormy album, a fitting reminder that after all the violent storms and crushing human relationships have ended, nature and life itself will continue to flourish and grow.  It’s a defiant statement by an artist who refuses to conform to expectations, and Neko Case continues to flourish and grow with each release.

Neko Case – “People Got A Lotta Nerve”

Neko Case – “Never Turn Your Back On Mother Earth”

Here’s a great little summer tune from San Francisco duo Girls.  Thankfully, it is not a Jet-style rip off of Iggy Pop.

Girls – “Lust For Life”

FYI, Girls will be playing at Emo’s on 8/14, opening for Los Campesinos! along with the Smith Westerns.  Those are three really good bands.  I would recommend getting yor butt out there to hear some great indie rock.  But that’s just me.  You do what you like.

The Smith Westerns – “Girl In Love”

Los Campesinos! – “This Is How You Spell ‘Hahaha, We Destroyed The Hopes And Dreams Of A Generation Of Faux-Romantics’”