speed of dark

I hope everyone had a fine Christmas. Welcome to Shopping Hell Day!

At last, I can put some order into my jumbled list of Favorites. These last four get top honors because they contain so many excellent songs I can't choose a favorite. The albums in their entirety are excellent, so I can recommend them without reservation.

4. J. Tillman: With Wolves from Minor Works
This is the artist and the album I was afraid I'd have to break our rules for. Minor Works is sold only online at fargo store, which baffled me for a while because it appeared that you could pay only in pounds or euros. I actually wrote to Tillman about it, and he told me just to enter my payment info as usual, and the monies would be converted. Voila! I received an e-mail in French telling me my order has been sent. My account was charged $20 U.S. for the CD plus shipping. I don't think that's too much to pay for something this good. Therefore, since the album can be purchased in the States, I declare it eligible under our rules.

I've had almost all of the songs on "Minor Works" for a good part of the year, and their beauty and ability to move me never fades. The first of Tillman's songs that caught me, with last year's "Seven States Across" and "My Waking Days" from Long May You Run, J. Tillman, are the ones with only his voice and guitar. When songs are this minimal, the singer had better have something to say worth hearing, and Tillman does. They are striking, stark, astute observations of the darker side of people's lives. He has a way of making short lines and simple words deeply touching and meaningful, much like Neil Young, whom he lists as an influence.

At first I wasn't crazy about the band, but now I love that too. The drums, banjo, and pedal steel enhance and brighten without removing any of the intimacy of Tillman's intense, husky vocals.

In the final analysis, I had a terrible time picking a favorite from this bunch. I have changed my mind countless times. I loved "With Wolves" since it was a demo without the band, now it is achingly lovely with addition of violin and slide guitar. It has truly been a song of the year for me in both its versions, and I still can't hear it enough. "Casualties" relates a somber story of desperation and regret. I loved "Restlessness" from the first time I heard it on Tillman's MySpace page. I've posted "Take Care" twice since we started this blog, so it's a favorite for sure, in fact, I posted several from this album before I knew they were on it in my Letter to J. Tillman back in October. The links to those MP3s are down now because--I can't say it any clearer--you should BUY THIS ALBUM. You can listen to clips of all the tracks at the Fargo Store link below.
Website | MySpace | Buy at Fargo Store

Sample lyrics from With Wolves

If you've got one foot out the door
You've packed up all your shoes
You don't have to feel
Like I've been fooled
Cause young men play the part
Play the part of fools
To keep from standing still
To keep their precious youth
Young girls pay the price
Of pairing off with wolves
Who don't know any better
And don't feel like they should

3. Beirut: Mt. Wroclai (Idle Days) from Gulag Orkestar
From the first trembling trumpet notes of "Gulag Orkestar" you feel you have suddenly been transported not just to a different and older land but to what seems like an older time as well, and your trip lasts the entire CD.

Somehow, wunderkind Zach Condon, who invented Beirut in his bedroom, maintains a delicate balance between faded glory and brash youth in this music. He claims that his warbly vocals and those intricate arrangements come about nearly by accident, and that that is his intention. I can understand how Condon acquired his passion for gypsy and Eastern-European style music, passing fancy though it may be. The phenomenon that fascinates me is that he was able to coerce so many of the rest of us into going along for the ride. This is pretty strange music for indie/rock. I am aware of the criticism regarding Condon's lack of authenticity toward the cultural and musical roots of the music he borrows from, but that does not keep me from enjoying these tales of celebration and longing. I don't hear a peep of satire or parody in any of the songs, and I've been inspired to listen to and buy the authentic sources.

I think the question at the end of 2006 is, What's next for Mr. Condon? Even if he could keep the current momentum going with this unlikely stuff--and as far as I'm concerned, he can, because I also am completely in love with "Elephant Gun" from the new Lon Gisland EP--if he has any musical creativity at all, he is going to want to change directions. It will be interesting to see what he tries to sell us on next. A lot has been made of Condon's youth, and it should be remembered that people do a lot of maturing and changing in their early twenties. If he's a faker, as some would have it, time will tell, or he may just decide to surprise us and become a serious musician.

My favorite on this album is still the song I heard first, "Mt. Wroclai," with its jaunty accordion, delicate glockenspiel, and simultaneously melancholy vocals and boisterous rhythms. Oh my!
Official website | MySpace | Buy this album at Amazon, emusic, or iTunes



2. Silversun Pickups: Future Foe Scenarios from Carnavas
I've said a lot about Silversun Pickups in two main posts, one back in September and more lately in this concert review. There is no point in my rehashing the fact that I find this band's sound incredibly energizing and fresh. I have agonized for weeks over which track was going to be the Favorite--it could be any one of six, and all the other songs on Carnavas are good too. No duds here. I heard the wonderful "Lazy Eye" first, but then I was quickly drawn to "Well Thought Out Twinkles." Then I fell in love with "Dream at Tempo 119." The deceptively slow pace of "Rusted Wheel" seems to barely constrain some powerful force. I could keep naming them; each one has been my favorite at some point. Then we went to that concert, and for me, "Future Foe Scenarios" was the mind-blower. It's revolution, baby!
Official website | MySpaceBuy this album at Amazon or iTunes



1. Thom Yorke: The Clock from The Eraser
This is my number one song and number one album for three reasons. First, it's Thom Yorke! Radiohead! Duh! The contest is weighted right there.

Time is running out for us
But you just move your hands upon the clock

Second, "The Clock" is a protest song, and I cut my musical teeth on protest songs in the 60's and 70's, so for me outrage is the essence of rock music. This is the year even President Bush started to get it through his thick head that industrial nations', primarily the U.S., environmental policies are about to permanently demolish mankind's only living-place. If you haven't seen the movie An Inconvenient Truth, my advice is to rent it SOON. It will scare the pants off you even as it attempts to sooth you by saying if we just use alternative fuels and different light bulbs, we won't cook our world well-done in the next two generations. "The Clock," with its lickety-split percussion, conveys the urgency that we wish our leaders would adopt.

You throw coins in a wishing well
Wake up!

Third, this entire album, in which I love every single song, influenced me musically in a tremendous way. It expanded my taste into areas I don't normally explore. It caused me to seek out and be open to dance-beat and percussion-infused tracks. These artists and songs would not have been on my Favorites list if it weren't for The Eraser: D.J. Shadow's "Erase You," Sigur Ros's "Refur," and The Album Leaf's "Red Eye" (see post). Even Mew is here due in large part to Yorke's inspiration. There are older songs as well that I came across in my search for Eraser-like music.
The Eraser site | Buy this album at Amazon or iTunes

I also want to throw in here a bit about whether being able to get free MP3s on the Internet keeps people from purchasing an album. In my case, No, it does not if a majority of the songs are good. I had every single one of the songs from the Eraser the first day they leaked. I still bought it; I pre-ordered it, in fact. You can see me doing it with J. Tillman too. I have most of "Minor Works." I'm still buying it.

I can't guarantee to you that what you download from my posts is the highest quality. The quality here is only good enough for you to evaluate the music. The only way to get the best quality is to buy from the artist. The only way to keep that good music coming is to support the artists.

It's been a great year. I'm sure there's a lot of good music that I missed, and I'm excited about finding it. I'm looking forward, now that this list is done, to exploring what's new and getting caught up with other blogs!

~alt-gramma~