speed of dark

From left: Wargo, Pecknold, and Skjelset
At one point I wasn't planning to go to this show because I knew I would have to go alone, and that's kind of a hassle due to the distance and traffic. But as I was enjoying listening Fleet Foxes' CD and writing my review, I suddenly thought, "WHY am I not seeing these people???" I bought my ticket right then, which turned out to be a good thing. Fleet Foxes sold out all three of their southern California shows, and other dates on their U.S. tour are also sold out.

If you're even considering seeing them, don't hesitate another second to buy your ticket. The current tour is perhaps the last time for Average Joe Concertgoer to see Fleet Foxes in an intimate setting. In the future you will be standing in a crowd at a festival or, if they play a small venue, you'll have to know someone to get a ticket.

Many of those who did hesitate and arrived without a ticket at Saturday night's show at the Echo were disappointed to find they wouldn't get in. However, those who were at the front of the line without tickets got an unexpected reprieve. I don't know how Robin Pecknold (the creative center around which Fleet Foxes revolves) found out there were people without tickets outside, but he appeared on the sidewalk with the band's guest list in hand and put the first five people in line in the empty slots. Then he somehow wangled the next ten ticketless people in as well. I'm not saying this to encourage anyone to try to crash sold-out shows, only to illustrate the generosity of Pecknold's character. It's that same sweetness of spirit that shines through in his songs.



Although the five-member band appeared a bit cramped on the tiny stage (I think I heard keyboardist Casey Wescott say that he wished he could get his feet on the stage) and the room was stiflingly hot, the closeness perfectly showcased all the warmth and hominess that are some of the best characteristics of Fleet Foxes. You could see Pecknold practically blush with pleasure at the enthusiastic applause. Drummer Josh Tillman kept throwing out humorous asides.

Click to enlarge:

Left: Fleet Foxes; Right: J. Tillman

And the sound--oh the sound! It was the best I've heard yet at the Echo. Everything you hear on the record was there, and if anything it was even better. Pecknold has an incredible voice by himself, but the four-part harmonies with Chris Wargo (bass), Wescott, and Tillman were full, on-target, and exhilarating. Lead guitarist Skye Skjelset is the only one who doesn't sing, but he supports more than ably on guitar and mandolin.

The setlist consisted of songs from their Sun Giant EP and their brilliant self-titled full-length, both released this year. They opened with "Sun Giant," the four-part a capella harmonies bringing to mind either a Baptist church choir or a barber-shop quartet. Fleet Foxes have the precision to make either an accurate comparison. On "Drops In the River," which sounded even stronger than the recorded version, Skjelset bows the guitar strings to make that moaning sound.

After "Your Protector," Robin said, "The first half of this next song is a Judee Sill cover." This turned out to be "Crayon Angels," after which he segued directly into "Oliver James" without a pause. The main set ended with one of my many favorites, "Mykonos," from Sun Giant. The last part always makes me think of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young singing "Ohio."

Setlist:
1. Sun Giant
2. Sun It Rises
3. Drops in the River
4. English House
5. White Winter Hymnal
6. Your Protector
7. Judee Sill cover: "Crayon Angels" (lyrics)
8. Oliver James
9. He Doesn't Know Why
(At Tillman's suggestion, Wargo doodled a jazz bit while Robin retuned his guitar to compensate for a broken string)
10. Mykonos

Encore
10. Tiger Mountain Peasant Song -- Robin played this solo on electric guitar while his bandmates restrung his acoustic guitar offstage.
11. Blue Ridge Mountains - gorgeous ending!

Attention vinyl-lovers: LPs are for sale at the merch table.
Shout-outs to all the nice people I met (and remet!) in line and in the audience!

MySpace | Website | Label: SubPop Records/Bella Union | Lyrics
Buy: SubPop Store, iTunes, and Amazon.com

Show Schedule:
Check Fleet Foxes MySpace for dates and venues. Wilco ticketholders in Salt Lake City, Boise, Spokane, and Bend will see Fleet Foxes opening those shows.

Brooklyn-based Anthem In fits very nicely in the Rogue Wave/Pinback niche while putting their own mark on their infectious, guitar-rich, layered dance-rock.

Allen Orr provides the soft vocals and lashing guitar, with Ashley Proffitt playing some sweet synths. Keith Vogelsong (bass) and Paul Petitto (drums) complete the rest of the sound. Add that to catchy tunes and lyrics that invite a sing-along, and you have an excellent record, which describes their self-titled full-length debut, just released this past week.

From Anthem In (2008):
Hold Onto Me
Down

MySpace | Website | Label: Quiet/Loud Records
Buy: Quiet/Loud Store, Amazon, iTunes, and eMusic

The heatwave has blessedly relented, but that is no reason for the music to cool down. Here are more hot-weather tunes for your weekend.

Jon Spencer (Yes, that Jon Spencer, of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion) goes retro on this smokin' rockabilly number.
Heavy Trash: Kissy Baby from Going Way Out With Heavy Trash (2007)
MySpace | Website | Label: Yep Roc Records
Buy at Yep Roc, Amazon, and eMusic


If you liked the Lilofee song I posted in Monday's Hot Summer Nights mix, then here is another one with lots of attitude! So Katy Perry kissed a girl? Big deal!

Hey mister, hey mister
I kissed your kid sister
Watcha gonna do?
Watcha gonna do?

Lilofee are currently mixing their first full-length album, to be titled The Only Years, due for release at the end of this summer.
Lilofee: Lock and Key
MySpace | Buy: direct from Lilofee
Photo: Kimi Recor of Lilofee


When I first heard this song by State Bird, I scribbled a note to myself: "Get more." The ukelele and accordion at the beginning make you think of Beirut. And then something totally unexpected starts happening: a hot horn section starts twining around a sinuous Far Eastern melody. Folk, country, and totally tribal.
State Bird: The Golden Glowing Mask from Mostly Ghostly (2008)
MySpace | Website | Label: The Record Machine
Buy Direct from State Bird, The Record Store Merch, Amazon, and eMusic


Oliver and Chris Wood, the Wood Brothers, may be considered country, but in truth they can't be pinned down to one style. Folk-blues "Walkaway" is like a nice stroll in the shade. Try also acoustic-flavored "Postcard From Hell," while "Pray Enough" is electric blues-soul that will remind you of Dr. John. This album also includes a duet with Amos Lee on Lee's "Angel."
The Wood Brothers: Walkaway from Loaded (2008)
MySpace | Website | Label: Blue Note Records
Buy: iTunes and Amazon


Lucy Michelle sounds a little like Billy Holiday and a little like Maria Muldaur in "Osbick Bird," a song from a poem by Edward Gorey. She and her Twin Cities band the Velvet Lapelles have just celebrated a CD release party for their first album Orange Peels and Rattlesnakes. It will be available in stores around Minneapolis, and hopefully the rest of us will find it on iTunes soon.
Lucy Michelle and the Velvet Lapelles: Osbick Bird from Orange Peels and Rattlesnakes (2008)
MySpace | Label: Unsigned--snap her up!


Bronwen Exeter's vocals give a little Bebel Gilberto flavor to Science For Girls' "14 Days." Although the lyrics mention rainy September, I can also imagine a gentle samba on the beach under palm trees and stars. A perfect ending to a hot summer night.

Never a dull moment
Life is a game of chance,
Wrinkly and inconvenient...
And even the stars are alive
Even the stars at night
Even a star like you can be looking for something

Science For Girls: 14 Days from Science For Girls (2007)
MySpace | Buy: eMusic

Poster by Spencer’s sister, Zoë Krug Sather
Indie Mom said to me last weekend, "I've been listening to the new Wolf Parade album (At Mount Zoomer), and I just....don't...like it. Maybe I need more time with it."

Of the two of us, she has been much more a fan of that album than I am, although I like several of the songs on it very much. Apologies also had more songs--12--than At Mount Zoomer's 9 tracks, so there were more possibilities to like. I do think she will like it better the more she listens to it. I know I do.

On Apologies, I was generally attracted to the Dan Boeckner tracks more than the Spencer Krug tracks. After I got to know the band well enough to tell their styles apart, it's kind of like Lennon and McCartney. While I think Krug is an inspired keyboardist, I think he needs reining in because he tends to go a bit overboard. Of the several side projects these guys sprouted in the last three years, only Boeckner's Handsome Furs was attractive to me. I'm just not a big fan of the dischordant progressions and broken falsettos that Krug seems to favor.

I understand the band's reason for taking time off away from each other. They needed to forge new and different musical connections and attitudes so as not to make the same album again. In my opinion, they accomplished that mission, with Boeckner's more straightforward, less yelping singing style one of the best improvements to me. Clearly Wolf Parade came back together here with the goal of combining their assests rather than distinguishing their differences. From the first deedle-deedle of Krug's keys on "Soldier's Grin," there is a solid, new assurance, if not the immediate catchiness of earlier songs like "Disco Sheets" and "Modern World"--although "The Grey Estates" comes as close as anything to capturing that.

Krug strengths are sufficiently under control to show them off, especially when he's on the synths, while not getting too carried away. I like the dark and lovely "California Dreamer," "Call It a Ritual" and "Bang Your Drum," and I like his vocals when he's singing "Fire in the hole!" on "Kissing the Beehive." "An Animal In Your Care" grew out of a song that was called "Chinese Way" in last year's concerts, and that is the one song on this CD that I don't care for very much.

While the band may have searched for different sonic inspirations, thematically, WP are still in battle against the perils and shallowness of modern life.

"Soldier's Grin": "...there is a city in my mind...but this place is no friend of mine"

"Language City": all the ringing telephones/there's no one around/We are not at home/Ignore the telephone!"

"The Grey Estates": "out the window the neons sing/a place of telegraphs that don't mean a thing""

"Kissing the Beehive": "You put your face on the glass/And you called it good cinema/As if you didn't know that it would sting"

I have not found a lyrics site for this album, so it's possible that these lyrics here are not perfect. Photo: this is why I love Dan.

I'm not sure at this point if At Mount Zoomer will be among my top albums at the end of 2008, but it's very likely that one of the songs will be on my list. The main contenders are "California Dreamer" (which evolved from "Stevie" a song they performed during last year's concerts), "Fine Young Cannibals," and especially the lengthy and powerful "Kissing the Beehive" (a shorter version was performed as "Crazy Horse" last year). Those three, especially "Beehive," show the fusion of Boeckner's and Krug's talents at their best, which creates the essence of Wolf Parade that makes the band far more than the sum of its parts.

Fine Young Cannibals from At Mount Zoomer (2008)
Crazy Horse (early live version of "Kissing the Beehive,"
recorded at Download Festival, Tweeter Center, Mansfield, MA, August 18, 2007)
I'll Believe In Anything (acoustic piano version),
original version on Apologies to the Queen Mary (2005)

MySpace | Label: Sub Pop Records
Buy at Sub PopX and receive the poster above until they run out. I love Dante as a bunny.
iTunes, and Amazon.com

Show Schedule:
Wolf Parade kicks off a comprehensive tour of the U.S. on July 7 in Pontiac, MI. They are amazing to see live. See Wolf Parade at the Glass House for our review and photos of an excellent show. We're seeing them again next month!

Photos of Spencer Krug and Dan Boekner by alt-gramma, Speed of Dark.

This is perhaps the final installment in a series of Time Travel Tuesdays that continue on the cover article of Issue 1054 (June 12) of Rolling Stone, 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time compiled by writers David Fricke, Brian Hiatt, Evan Serpick, and Douglas Wolk.

Today I'm listing a few of my own favorite guitar songs that were not on the RS list. As someone who likes almost any sound a guitar can make, I have some definite opinions. Way back before the CD became the main method of transferring music, I used to make mixes for myself on my tape deck that had titles like "Sucker For an Ax," "Son of the Sucker For an Ax," and "Return of the Son of Sucker For an Ax." I'll have to hunt for the spiral notebook where I kept notes on what songs were on these tapes.

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If you're going to drag out hoary oldies-rock from the 70's, how can you possibly leave out "Don't Fear the Reaper," which has one of the most memorable guitar riffs of rock? Penned and played by lead singer Buck Dharma, this dark classic has been covered the alternative rock likes of Elliott Smith, Belle and Sebastian, Wilco, and the unlikely pairing of Enya and Nick Cave, to mention only a few. Stand and wave your lighters.


Blue Oyster Cult: Don't Fear the Reaperfrom Agents of Fortune (1976)
Buck Dharma Website


I previously bitched about the baffling exclusion of Jeff "Skunk" Baxter from the 100 Greatest list, and this song is my best example of why. From those first whip-like chords, I'm hooked. Baxter also provided the magic fingers on Steely Dan's first radio hit, "Reelin' In the Years" from Can't Buy a Thrill (1972) and on my favorite Doobie Brothers album (yes, I am not ashamed to have a favorite Doobie Brothers album), Living On the Fault Line (1977).

Steely Dan: Show Biz Kids from Countdown To Ecstasy (1973)
Countdown To Ecstasy reviewed on Time Travel Tuesday


From those first high-pitched whacking sounds that signal menace as clearly as the theme from "Jaws," the guitar parts in "Jack the Ripper" compete tirelessly with attention-whore Morrissey for the listener's attention. One of my most favorite songs ever, I once paid $22 for an import CD to get it before it had been included on any U.S. release--I think the highest amount I've ever paid for a single song.

Boz Boorer, Morrissey's guitarist for the live album Beethoven Was Deaf, where "Jack the Ripper" first appeared, got his first co-writer credit with this song.

Morrissey: Jack the Ripper, originally on Beethoven Was Deaf (1993)
Website | tabs


Guitar masters Richard Lloyd and the late Robert Quine made Matthew Sweet's third album Girlfriend a guitar-lover's wet dream. The squeals Quine tortures from his instrument in the solo midway through "Don't Go" make me scream.
Photo: Robert Quine, at CBGB's with Richard Hell and the Voidoids

Matthew Sweet: Don't Go from Girlfriend (1991)
Robert Quine Website



Guitarist, songwriter, and Grammy-winning music producer Daniel Lanois is one of those guitarists I was thinking of last week who has a signature sound and uses the spaces between the notes to play into that sound. His gorgeous 1993 solo album For the Beauty of Winona is one of my favorite guitar albums ever. It was difficult for me to choose one song from it as an example, but I finally settled on "Brother L.A."


Daniel Lanois: Brother L.A. from For the Beauty of Winona (1993)
Red Floor Records | Daniel Lanois on Time Travel Tuesday

The southwest U.S. has been experiencing a gawd-awful heatwave for the past week, and on top of that, Indie Mom and I had to go to the desert where it was officially 116 degrees but unofficially probably hotter than that. Time to crank up a mix of hot music. I love making song mixes, which you might not know because I don't do nearly enough of it here.

I wish I had discovered Two Hours' Traffic's album Little Jabs last year when it came out. There are lots of good songs on it, and I especially like this one. They remind me a lot of early Nada Surf.

I will let you sing my song, if you can relate
Let you get the lyrics wrong; they're not that great

Two Hours Traffic: Stuck For the Summer from Little Jabs (2007)
MySpace | Buy: eMusic

Singer Juliette Commagere as singer and Joachim Cooder (yes, son of Ry) on guitar make Hello Stranger a band to watch, and this track is raging hot. Check the photo of Commagere performing at the Roxy--she's got her big boots on too. Better have the fire extinguisher handy because this is scorchin'! Watch for album release soon.

I keep my boots on
I keep 'em on all night long
I keep my big boots on
Ain't nobody gonna tell me it's wrong

Hello Stranger: Big Boots
MySpace


Baltimore's Beach House bring things down with their glowing "Gila." I have kind of resisted this band, but I think the new album is gonna finally pull me in.
Beach House: Gila from Devotion (2008)
MySpace | Buy: Amazon.com


San Francisco's Lilofee, featuring Rob Easson and Kimi Recor, are an up-and-coming independent band who make some absolutely smoldering sounds. Watch for more here soon.

This fire with no control
I'll make sure you burn

Lilofee: Get Your Fill
MySpace | Buy: direct from Lilofee


I usually don't think much of shouted vocals, but you can feel the heat rise off exuberant Port O'Brien from Oakland, CA. Their current album, just released in April, is a winner. They are sharing some shows in July with the Builders and the Butchers, another hot band you need to know.
Port O'Brien: I Woke Up Today from All We Could Do Was Sing (2008)
MySpace | Buy: eMusic


Now slather on sunscreen so you can enjoy the sizzling rays of Pacific UV, sounding a little bit like Black Rebel Motorcycle Club here with this track from their current album, released in April.
Pacific UV: Need from Longplay 2 (2008)
MySpace | Buy: eMusic


Photo by alt-gramma, Speed of Dark

The Very Most play very tiny instruments

The Very Most, who say they may be the only indie-pop band from Boise, ID, have just released their second album, Congratulations Forever, generally a collection of very bright, fresh-sounding, sunny songs that are great driving accompaniment. I especially like how Gia Trotter's vocals sweeten "When Not Being Stupid Is Not Enough." The title song is an especially nice bonus track that is 11 minutes long.

The Very Most are: founder and songwriter Jeremy Jensen, Zach Von House (bass, vocals), Allen Ellis (drums, vocals), and Gia Trotter (keys, vocals). If you buy Congratulations Forever from their site and fill in a form, they'll write a custom song just for you! You can check out some examples of those custom songs in one of their MySpace blogs. Pretty cute!

The Very Most from Congratulations Forever (2008)
The Word Almost
When Not Being Stupid Is Not Enough

MySpace | Website | Label: Coming In Second
Buy Direct from The Very Most, iTunes, Amazon.com, and eMusic

Show Schedule:
The Very Most are playing shows around Boise and Pocatello, but they sometimes make their way to Salt Lake City and Spokane.

Hilariously-named Fire on Fire from South Portland, OR, is my newest entry in the New Weird America collection I am currently into. I can't wait to hear the new album Young God due out sometime this year. You can stream several excellent examples on their MySpace page.

Meanwhile, here's my favorite from their 2007 5 Song EP. For the first 35 seconds, you think it's going to sound like the old folk standard "Freight Train" until those ululating vocals come in. Wow! Then fiddle joins the guitars, accordion, and drums. The whole thing just blows me away.

Fire on Fire: Hangman from 5 Song - EP (2007)

MySpace | Label: Young God Records
Buy at iTunes, Amazon.com, and eMusic

Photo by Scott Sutherland

Brad Davis and David Hickox show the Broken Letters have a lighter side

"Almost blues," announces the headline of The Broken Letters' MySpace page. Almost? This band is actually pretty damn bluesy in a Southern gothic, garage-band kind of way. The way the guitar lines mimic the sound of dripping raindrops makes you wish for gloomy fall days instead of the bright sun of summer, but you could also get into this with a bottle of gin on a hot night.

"Feathers may fall, but that don't mean it's raining angels."

This great line is the beginning of "Another Morning." David Hickox writes the songs and lyrics, and Brad Davis backs him on drums and other instruments. All the songs were recorded live in the studio, a fact you can tell by the hollow "feel" of the room and how all vocals, guitars, and drums interact with each other instead of just existing in the same time frame. No polished studio tinkering of track layers here--this album has that unmistakable vibrancy that only live music contains and which I find much more exciting than slick perfection.

"Licht" is one of my favorites of an overall exceptionally compelling album. "Left you waiting on the line while the call came in," mourns Hickox, his funereal delivery filling the lines with regret for the damage done.

"Let an angel go to burning and ran from the light
Left you burning there waiting, when with water I finally replied
There was nothing I could do to save you from the fire."

Another standout is "Every Hollow Plow" which includes a mellowing organ line, a reminder that Hickox and Davis' influences include the Southern Baptist Church. "Thunder Ode," "Avian Blues," and "In Blood," a deathbed lament, are right up there too.

I seem to be on some kind of folk or New Weird America kick lately, and The Broken Letters are fitting right in there next to Fleet Foxes and J. Tillman. I highly recommend this album. The great thing is you can buy it directly from The Broken Letters themselves, and for vinyl-lovers, their previous album is available as an LP.

From Sing the Burning Alphabet (2008):
Licht
Another Morning

MySpace | Website
Buy Direct from the Broken Letters

Show Schedule:
The Broken Letters are just winding up a tour of the central U.S. and will be announcing new dates for August and September soon. I hope they're coming west.

Time Travel Tuesday continues on the subject of the cover article of Issue 1054 (June 12) of Rolling Stone, 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time compiled by writers David Fricke, Brian Hiatt, Evan Serpick, and Douglas Wolk. If you check the comments on the RS site, some folks are foaming at the mouth in rage at the author's choices. No wonder RS doesn't permit curse words in comments! Some even say the article has caused them to give up on Rolling Stone forever.

That's going a few feet off the deep end, in my opinion. The article simply and obviously reflects the taste of those five people, not of the entire magazine. We ALL have opinions, and this blog represents mine. Nobody has to agree. And maybe 100 is just not a big enough number, you know?

As I griped in the previous two Time Travel Tuesdays, the authors gave a lot of credit to the blues' influence on rock but way too little to country's influence. Even the lone Elvis Presley song (#37 "That's All Right, Mama," guitarist Scotty Moore) reflects the King's blues side. Hendrix, Clapton, Beck, Page, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Carlos Santana, and Billy Gibbons--not to mention B.B. King and Albert King, the sources themselves--are/were all blues guitarists whose songs take up a large percentage of the 100 songs.

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The Beatles, however, one of the hugest branches of the rock and roll tree, were influenced far more by country than blues. George Harrison, as lead guitarist of these Greats of the Great, gets really short shrift in the examples credited to him. He has to share with Clapton for "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," and the basis of the choice of "A Hard Days' Night" (#22) is that weird opening chord. Sorry, but the rest of the song is pretty ho-hum.

Thank goodness, the authors included at #45 "I Saw Her Standing There," a true marker of Harrison's early skills. I say, why not "She Said, She Said" instead of "A Hard Day's Night"?


The Beatles: She Said, She Said from Revolver (1966)

Photo from the book Here Comes the Sun by Joshua Greene



The authors shrugged off the opportunity to note Carl Perkins, one the Beatles' main country roots whom they covered with "Honey Don't," "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby," and "Matchbox." Big gap there. Paul McCartney has said "If there were no Carl Perkins, there would be no Beatles." Perkins also wrote "Blue Suede Shoes," a country song that became a big rock hit for Elvis.

C'mon, George, rock on for Ringo one time!

The Beatles: Honey Don't (Carl Perkins cover) from Beatles For Sale (1964)

Since some people don't like to hear Ringo sing, here is the Beatles' bow to the influence of Buddy Holly, who was also neglected in the article. It's my personal opinion that Buddy Holly was the first punk rocker.

The Beatles: Words of Love from Beatles For Sale (1964)

I really get upset at the skimpy mention of Ry Cooder. My single experience of seeing him play almost 40 years ago has a lot to do with why I care so much about rock music. It probably has a lot to do with why I'm writing about music today. All these years, Cooder has constantly reminded rock of all the places it came from: folk, blues, and country.

One lousy example, and it's Mick Jagger's "Memo From Turner" (#92)? Well, that's good and all, and it's one of the few examples of slide guitar on the list.

Mick Jagger: Memo From Turner, originally on the Performance movie soundtrack (1970)

It's important to note that Cooder influenced the great Stones, not the other way around, having done much of the lead on the sessions for Let It Bleed. My issue is that on this song Cooder is playing to someone else's taste, not his own. He has done so much better than this in his own work, and I would much rather hear Cooder sing than Jagger anyway. When I saw him in 1970, I still remember he played "Brownsville" (a Sleepy John Estes cover) because I was drop-jaw mesmerized by it. He later turned those mandolin skills to the wonderful "Billy the Kid" on his second album, Into the Purple Valley (1971).

Ry Cooder playing "Goin' To Brownsville"--try telling me that's not great!

Ry Cooder: Goin' To Brownsville from Ry Cooder (1970)

A great guitarist is one you can identify the moment you hear him, and no one has to tell you that's him. Cooder has made his unmistakable mark on his solo albums and the movie soundtracks he has scored: Paris, Texas, Crossroads, Dead Man Walking, and more others than you think.

Ry Cooder: Paris, Texas from the movie soundtrack (1985)

Chords,tunings and more about Ry Cooder | Ry Cooder on NPR

Last rant (?) next week on Time Travel Tuesday. It has to be put to rest sometime!

Fleet Foxes: Wescott, Tillman, Wargo, Pecknold, and Skjelset

In early May J. Tillman, a Seattle singer-songwriter that I have written about several times, announced on his MySpace page that he was joining Fleet Foxes as their drummer for their current tour and, who knows, maybe longer. At that point, I had not yet listened to Fleet Foxes, but if they were good enough for Josh, I certainly wanted to check them out. I was immediately hooked on their homey sound, at once rustic and shiny-smooth. I'm always into rootsy, folky music with guitars and harmonies, and this is right up my alley.

About Fleet Foxes sound, lead singer/songwriter Robin Pecknold says, "We try to draw from the traditions of folk music, pop, choral music and gospel, baroque psychedelic, sacred harp singing, West Coast music, traditional music from Ireland to Japan, and film scores.."

If you read anything about FF elsewhere, you'll see references to My Morning Jacket (yes, Pecknold's voice sounds a lot like Jim James') and Band of Horses (and a bit like Ben Birdwell's too). You'll also read that Pecknold and best friend Skyler Skjelset (lead guitar) spent their high school years listening to the tight vocal harmonies of the Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, the Zombies, and Crosby, Stills, Nash and sometimes Young. Oddly, this is the same music I was listening to 30 years ago at about their age, so it's no wonder Fleet Foxes' musical influences have drawn me in.

But there's another facet to the music as well, one that I can't help comparing with another band I've listened to lately: Shearwater's Rook. Both bands have a lead singer with a distinctive and attractive voice. Pecknold's is more nasal and twangy, but he hits the notes right on pitch. The similarity is where the subject matter of the songs of both bands embraces a spiritual quality that goes beyond the sound. While Shearwater's Jonathan Meiburg uses his songs to connect us with the natural world through its birds and animals, Pecknold populates his songs with people he refers to both by name and by relationship: mother, brother, grandfather. Both songwriters attempt to call us back to deeper values and connections, virtues that are sorely needed by a society that encourages grabbing as much as you can.

Although this full-length CD has been released after the EP Sun Giant, chronologically it was recorded first and the two belong together. Some songs simply feature Pecknold and an acoustic guitar, while others employ the whole band. Some are not much more than a vocal exercise, like the round "White Winter Hymnal," while others are pencil-sketches of stories that seem to go much deeper than the lyrics: love and longing ("Your Protector") and death ("Oliver James"). "Heard Them Stirring" is a brilliant replication in song of wind sighing high in the boughs of big trees. Both "Tiger Mountain Peasant Song" and "Ragged Wood" are like a blend of two songs, where one just rolls into the other. I have yet to pick a favorite--it's just all good.

Mykonos from Sun Giant - EP (2008)
Tiger Mountain Peasant Song from Fleet Foxes (2008)

Through the forest
Down to your grave
Where the birds wait
And the tall grasses wave
They do not
know you anymore
Dear shadow alive and well
How can the body die
You tell me everything
Anything true

Stream: A short recording of Pecknold, Tillman, and David Bazan (on drums) covering Bob Dylan's "Oh Sister" for a benefit show, December 30, 2007, in Seattle.

Fleet Foxes are: Robin Pecknold (lead vocals/guitar), Skyler Skjelset (lead guitar), Casey Wescott (keyboards, vocals), Christian Wargo (bass/guitar/vocals), and Joshua Tillman (drums/vocals).

MySpace | Website | Label: SubPop Records | Lyrics
Buy at SubPop Store, iTunes, and Amazon.com

J. Tillman's MySpace | J. Tillman at the Glass House

Show Schedule:
On tour now! Check MySpace for dates and venues.

Photo by David Belisle

In general, the pop genre is too bland for my taste, but there are a few artists who are so good they transcend the average. Rufus Wainwright is one, and Aimee Mann is another.

Last week Aimee Mann released her seventh solo album, @#%! Smilers* since disbanding 'Til Tuesday in 1990. Although Mann has said that Smilers is not a concept album in the manner of 2005's The Forgotten Arm, a common thread definitely runs through the album's tracks. Mann's notes on users and abusers, bad decisions and lost opportunities are delivered through her usual memorable melodies and razor-sharp lyrics.

"Columbus Avenue":

The place where you failed to make your story go over
The place where you bailed and let the bottom drag you under

"It's Over":

"But you sit there in the darkness,
and you make plans but they're hopeless,
and you blame God when you're lonely,
and you'll call it fate, when you show up too late and it's over."

"Phoenix":

"I don't want to abandon you
but baby I've had my fill
you love me like a dollar bill
you roll me up and trade me in
and if you have the chance you will
and if you get the chance again

"Medicine Wheel"

Black marker on cardboard
Little drawing of a medicine wheel
Everything that’s good you steal

"Looking For Nothing":

I got high on the ferris wheel
Didn't like how it made me feel
So alone
Another cog in the loading zone

"Thirty-one Today":

I thought my life would be different somehow
I thought my life would be better by now
But it's not, and I don't know where to turn

"The Great Beyond":

Go, honey go
Cause it's a dead end street
And it's a street in a town
Where winning isn't sweet
And every win
Is the beginning of defeat

It's an album that has grown on me even more with repeated listenings. Produced by Paul Bryan, who also produced Mann's One More Drifter In the Snow (2006), there is no electric guitar on it, which I didn't even notice until I read it elsewhere. Most of the accompaniment is by keyboard, but she has a nice, sassy horn section, which is a new touch. Guest vocalists include longtime friend Grant Lee Phillips and novelist Dave Eggers, who provides the whistling on "Little Tornado." The most outstanding of the guest spots is her duet with Sean Hayes on "Ballantines."

My favorite track, for the tune and the snazzy arrangement but especially for the biting lyrics, is "Freeway." My interpretation is that Mann is digging at those individuals who insisted on buying SUVs and Hummers while ignoring that gas prices were rising...

You got a lot of money, but you can't afford the freeway
You got a lot of money, but you cannot keep your bills paid

...while also creating a metaphor for the entire state of the U.S.economy and a society based on appearance without substance with my favorite line in the whole album:

Another chocolate Easter bunny hollowed out by your own talk

(I like to hear "talk" as "tongue," which I think makes an even stronger statement.)

From @#%! Smilers:
Freeway
The Great Beyond

MySpace | Website | Label: Superego Records | Lyrics
Buy at Aimee Mann Store, iTunes, and Amazon.com

*I removed the ampersand from the title.
See also: Aimee Mann's 2nd Annual Christmas Show on Speed of Dark

Nashville quartet Paper Rival released their first full-length CD on June 2, Dialog, following up their previous two EPs, both released in 2007, Thieves (2007) and Paper Rival.

I have not heard the entire CD, but I fell in love with "Cassandra" the instant I heard it. I'm just nuts about the violin there. The band is on tour in now through mid-July, hitting many cities in the western U.S., so check their MySpace page.

Paper Rival:
Cassandra from Dialog (2008)
You're Right from Paper Rival EP (2007)

MySpace | Website | Label: Photo Finish Records
Buy at Amazon.com, iTunes, and Insound

Today's trip is a continuation of last week's Time Travel on the subject of the cover article of the latest issue of Rolling Stone, 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time compiled by writers David Fricke, Brian Hiatt, Evan Serpick, and Douglas Wolk.

No, we're not going to go for all 100 songs! Some of the songs on the list are just not my style even if I agree that the guitarists are excellent. Eddie Van Halen is a good example of that.

Researching and listening to songs for these Time Travels has been a real treat for me. Today's installment contains some of the songs on the Rolling Stone list that I agree with.

#16 is Neil Young's "Cowgirl In the Sand" from Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. Young, in my opinion, is one of rock's most influential artists, and this might be his best album. Hard to say because he has had such a long career and created so many wonderful songs. You name it, he's done it, and he was often the first. Simply a master craftsman.


#18 belongs to Johnny Ramone and "Blitzkrieg Bop." Influenced themselves by classic surf-rockers the Beach Boys and Dick Dale as well as the New York Dolls, the Ramones in turn passed their influence to millions of garage-rockers. You can't beat this with a baseball bat.

The Ramones: Blitzkrieg Bop from their first album, The Ramones (1976)



#23 goes to Jeff Beck's sitar-like riff that twines around Keith Relf's nasal whine on the Yardbirds' "Over Under Sideways Down"
Beck also appears on the list for his solo work on "Freeway Jam" (1975) and "I Ain't Superstitious" (1968) with Rod Stewart on vocals and Ron Wood on bass. I just can't stand Rod Stewart's voice.


Jeff Beck: Over Under Sideways Down from Over Under Sideways Down (1966)


"How much noise can one guitar make?" Good question when the guitar belongs to Jack White. The list gives #21 to The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" from Elephant (2003) where White somehow plays a whole band's worth of guitar parts in one song.

As much as I like that song, my favorite of the Stripe's albums is still their self-titled debut that came blasting out of nowhere onto the music scene in 1999. White is doing pretty much the same thing on this Robert Johnson cover as on Rolling Stone's choice. The guy is just frickin' amazing.
The White Stripes: Stop Breakin' Down from The White Stripes (1999)



Larry Carlton is an accomplished Los Angeles session guitarist who has recorded with Edgar Winter, Bryan Adams, the Doobie Brothers, and Joanie Mitchell, to name only a few. In 1976 he leant his talent to Steely Dan, contributing to one of the best albums of their career. His nickname, Mr. 335, is due to Gibson's producing a signature guitar based on Carlton's own Gibson.

Rolling Stone places "Kid Charlemagne" at #80 on their list, but there are several on that album that are up to the same standard, like "Pretzel Logic" and "The Fez." Note Michael McDonald in the layers of vocal harmony here. Is there gas in the car? Yes, there's gas in the car!
Steely Dan: Kid Charlemagne from The Royal Scam (1976)


I'd be pitching a major fit if Johnny Marr and #90 "How Soon Is Now?" weren't somewhere on the list. That Doppleresque wail set against the agitated bass line is so distinctive. I never, ever get tired of this song. Even so, this might not be my very favorite Johnny Marr example.

The Smiths: How Soon Is Now? from Hatful of Hollow (1984)




Another song whose attraction never fades is #97, "No One Knows," by Queens of the Stone Age. Josh Homme hammers out a delicious riff that underscores the ominous tone of the track. I still think that Songs For the Deaf is their best effort. Other great tracks are "First It Giveth" and "Go With the Flow." Among the notable guest artists who played on the album is Dave Grohl on drums.

Photo by Matt Field

Queens of the Stone Age: No One Knows from Songs For the Deaf (2002)

Next Tuesday (and maybe another Tuesday too, who knows), I'll continue on this theme, possibly with more undoubtable guitar gems from the list, but at some point I'll start arguing my case for songs and guitarists who aren't on the Rolling Stone list.

And now for something completely different: the duo of Computer vs. Banjo from Nashville, TN, whose debut CD will be released June 17. Johnny Mann was the lead guitarist of jazz/funk band Gran Torino, and Beau Stapleton played tenor guitar and mandolin for Blue Merle. They trade lead vocals and play a number of instruments, including of course, computer and banjo.

Not every song is a gem on this CD, but on some tracks the blues, folk, and electronics mix most pleasantly into a very interesting melange. "Jubilee," "Lost," "Guitars Need a Sinner's Touch," and "Give Up on Ghosts" are the best examples.

Computer vs. Banjo:
Jubilee
Give Up On Ghosts

MySpace | Website | Label: Diagram Records | Blog
Buy at CD Freedom, iTunes, and eMusic

Watch for the second album by Joan As Police Woman, scheduled for official release next Tuesday. The title is To Survive, and it is available on iTunes now if you want to get a head start. I just love her sultry voice and exotic looks. Here is the first single from this album as well as my favorite track from the previous album, Real Life.

To Be Loved from To Survice (2008)
The Ride from Real Life (2006)

Check the sexy video of "To Be Loved:"


Joan As Police Woman is: Joan Wasser (vocals, guitar, piano, violin), Rainy Orteca (bass), Parker Kindred (drums)

MySpace | Website | Label: Cheap Lullaby Records
Buy at Cheap Lullaby Store, Amazon.com, iTunes, and eMusic

Show Schedule:
Currently on tour in Europe

Shearwater with Jonathan Meiburg, center
Well, I was going to write a review of Death Cab's Narrow Stairs, and I may still do it, but I got distracted by the release of Shearwater's Rook, which I have found much more unique and compelling.

Jonathan Meiburg, the central force and vocalist of Shearwater, has one of the most incredible voices in current rock. The range and delicacy of his falsetto has an ethereal quality that is mesmerizing, and he has gathered around him a group of musicians who clearly grasp his musical vision.

Then when you get past marveling at the shear beauty of the vocals and start listening to the words, a whole other level of the music opens up. The lyrics are immersed in the love and appreciation of nature, particularly birds, a theme that began with 2004's Winged Life and continued with Palo Santo (2006). But everything comes together even more fully and beautifully on this album. If you heard the early release of "Rooks" and fell under its spell as I did, there is even more to enjoy on the rest of the album.

Some songs are calm and contemplative, like most of the opening track "On the Death of the Water," the drifting "I Was a Cloud," and the Tibetan drones of the instrumental "South Col," which reminds us that the earth is much older and stronger than we are and will certainly outlast us. [The South Col is the approach by climbers to the peak of Mt. Everest from Nepal.] Other songs are strong and fierce like "Century Eyes."

The album's themes also warns about man's damage to the environment and to its other inhabitants. "Rooks" attracts with its beautiful melody and at the same time repells with its image of dead birds gathered and "burned in a "feathering pyre." I'm sure it's intentional that many of the animals referenced in the lyrics and in drawings on the lyric sheets are mythical, endangered, or extinct.

"Century Eyes," scolds us:

"You were not the first to arrive,
and will not be the last to survive,
as the pigs and the oxen we bound to the wheel
tear it off, tear it off!"

Another song I like very much is "The Snow Leopard." Its piano chords and dramatic progression are somewhat reminiscent of Radiohead's "Pyramid Song" from Amnesiac and just as powerful. Overall, as I keep listening to this album I am more and more captivated by both its beauty and theme.

The basic CD ends with "The Hunter's Star." Will the earth survive only as a place without living creatures?

"No child at all would wake to the light
of a sun that is reddening like a robin's breast,
and no lioness boards a last, great hull
on the waves that close on a world
that will never return again
and no sound escapes from the night to come."

This leaves you hungering for more, so do your ears the favor of buying from iTunes, where two bonus tracks are included: the banjo-inflected "North Col" and the somber "So Bad." You can't go wrong here. I can't recommend this album highly enough.

The lyrics to "North Col" further remind us that we have no right to insist that our existence is more important than that of other creatures, and that we are running out of time to save them from extinction.

"...a fierce little wren was singing loud, and high
while his eyes, insisting on their own life,
gave legs to the lie
that there was world and time to grow old in its light."

The Hunter's Star from Rook (2008)
My Only Boy from Palo Santo (Extended version) (2006)
Hail Mary from Daytrotter Sessions (2006)

Watch this video of "Rooks" live at SXSW 2008

Shearwater are: Jonathan Meiburg, Thor Harris (drums), Kimberly Burke, and Howard Draper.

Website | Label: Matador Records | Lyrics pdf
Buy at Matador Store, iTunes, and eMusic

After I saw Beirut at the Avalon last October, I kept telling Indie Mom what a great show she had missed. When the opportunity came up to see them again, I bought the tickets right away; and a good thing too because last Friday night's show at the Wiltern was sold out.

An enthusiastic crowd greeted them as this big band spread out on the stage (below). It appeared to be nearly the same group as last fall: Zach Condon with his uke and trumpet, Perrin Cloutier on accordion, Jason Poranski on guitar and mandolin, Paul Collins on bass and uke, Nicholas Petree on drums, Kristin Ferebee on violin, Kelly Pratt and Jon Natchez on a variety of horns and other instruments. This seems to leave at least one band member unidentified, and some I'm not sure who is who.



The songs were fairly evenly divided between last year's Flying Club Cup, 2006's Gulag Orkestar and earlier songs, and new songs, hopefully appearing on the next album. Zach's voice sounded a little different, and I found out later from a comment on his MySpace that he had a cold. This concert also was not the smooth operation I saw last fall. Early in the show somebody announced that the big red standup bass was broken "again." I assume this was the reason for several whispered conversations between songs as the band made impromptu adjustments for the loss of the instrument.

Click any photo below for larger version.


Left, Zach pushes his hair back; Right, the french horn tattoo on his left forearm


From left: Kristin Ferebee, and I think Jason Poranski and Paul Collins

Setlist:

1. Nantes
2. Brandenberg
3. Elephant Gun - my favorite of all!
4. New song, a trumpet-based instrumental, possibly a cover of a song by Caetano Veloso
5. Mt. Wroclai (Idle Days) - I love this one too


Left, Kristin Ferebee; Right, Perrin Cloutier

6. The Penalty
7. Forks and Knives (La Fete)


Left, Is Nick Petree having fun, or what? Right, a home-made poster by a fan

8. New song - a halting funeral march that melts into haunting trumpet--gorgeous!
9. A Sunday Smile - Indie Mom loved the French horn duet


Stage lights set a sunny glow for Sunday Smile; Right, french horn duet

10. Scenic World - always sounds better live than the album version with its canned drums

11. Cherbourg
12. Zach introduced this as one of the first songs he wrote. The lyrics sounded like Spanish to me.
13. After the Curtain

Encore 1:
14. Postcards From Italy
15. Siki Siki Baba - No Beirut concert would be complete without this raucous crowd-pleaser. But we had to bring Zach back for one more song...

Encore 2:
The Bunker

The live tracks here are good-quality (256 kbps) recordings from last October's show in Toronto.

So ended one of the last concerts Beirut will be performing for some time, the scheduled European tour having been cancelled. In a letter from Zach posted on the Ba Da Bing website, Zach apologizes for the cancellation and ends with, "It's come time to change some things, reinvent some others, and come back at some point with a fresh perspective and batch of songs." Elsewhere he has explained that he just can't tour and write and record a new album at the same time, which is perfectly understandable.



Maybe it had more to do with the cold, but Zach looked a little tired here. The past two years' successes were certainly hoped-for but unexpected. The pace would have burned anybody out. Also, see the wedding ring on his left hand in the photo on the right, above. That was not there last October. I'm sure he'd like to settle in with his new spouse for a while instead of traveling.

MySpace | Website | Label: Ba Da Bing Records
Flying Cup Club Website

See also this review of the same show by Passion of the Weiss's Jeff Weiss for the L.A. Times.

Additions and corrections are welcome. Leave a comment.

span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 153, 0);">COPYRIGHTED CONTENT HAS BEEN REMOVED

Indie Mom and I have been so busy with concerts that we haven't had an edition of Time Travel Tuesday for several weeks. The cover article of the latest issue of Rolling Stone, 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time compiled by writers David Fricke, Brian Hiatt, Evan Serpick, and Douglas Wolk, is the inspiration for today's trip.

I am less irate than the people who commented about this article online (Pantera!), but I also have my own beefs about who is not on it. For one, the article does not say it's the 100 greatest electric guitar songs of all time, but if there are any acoustic guitar songs on the list, they are few. Second, the list is heavily weighted on the side of blues, acknowledging rock's great debt to its blues daddies like B. B. King, Albert King, and Muddy Waters but little about rock's debt to country. The writers are also overly-enamored of wah-wah, which I like too, but what about slide? What about pedal steel? I'm left wondering, Where's David Lindley? Bonnie Raitt? Jeff "Skunk" Baxter?

The way the list is put together by song allowed the writers to list the same guitarist several times--no fair! This includes most notoriously, Eric Clapton with a whopping five songs: with Cream, with the Yardbirds, with the Beatles ("While My Guitar Gently Weeps"), with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, and with Derek and the Dominoes. OK, "Layla" (#13) had to be on the list, no argument there, and the wah-wah on "White Room" is fantastic, I grant that. Jeff Beck also makes the list four times, while favorites of mine Ry Cooder and Johnny Marr (the Smiths) get only one entry apiece.

The article gives away some of the secrets of the famous sounds, such as the fact that Keith Richards plays "Brown Sugar" without the lowest string on the guitar.

Delightfully, the online article allows you to listen to each song along with its entry on the list (if you have a Rhapsody account, anyway). On the sad side, some of these songs have been played so damn much I never want to hear them ever ever ever again. That goes for Led Zeppelin's "Stairway To Heaven" (#8), Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" (#64), and Pink Floyd's "Money" (#69).

Song #1 is "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry, and if you have never heard that, you aren't reading this blog anyway. Onward.


Jimi Hendrix absolutely has to be on this list, and he hits it three times: #2-"Purple Haze," #12-"Voodoo Child," and #49-"Machine Gun." If you haven't already heard "Purple Haze," you have been living in a cave, so let's go with one of the two lesser-known songs.

Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
from Electric Ladyland (1968)



Eric Clapton takes #3-"Crossroads" and #55-"White Room" (both from Cream's 1968 double LP Wheels of Fire, which I played till the grooves wore thin), #7-"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" (with George Harrison), #13-"Layla" (with Duane Allman), and #42-"Hideaway" (with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers).

Instead of any of these, here's an older Cream song:

Cream: Outside Woman Blues from Disraeli Gears (1967)
It's interesting to hear Clapton sing, long before his affair with Patti Boyd Harrison: "And if you lose your woman, please don't mess with mine"


Stevie Ray Vaughan gets two entries for covers of Jimi Hendrix and bluesman Larry Davis songs: #54-"Little Wing" (a big favorite of mine, although it's difficult to say how Vaughan improves on the original) and #66-"Texas Flood".

Stevie Ray Vaughan: Little Wing
from The Sky Is Crying (1991)




Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers Band at #9 with the Old Blind Willie McTell cover of "Statesboro Blues" serves to further solidify the whole blues-rock connection. I was tempted to post another one of my favorites and an Allman Brothers original, "Whipping Post" from their 1969 self-titled debut, or the Muddy Waters cover "Trouble No More" from Eat a Peach (1972), but this time I'll stick with the article's selection because it's just great. But don't forget Duane's non-blues gems like "Jessica."

The Allman Brothers: Statesboro Blues
from Live at Fillmore East (1971)

If you spend any time with me, you'll probably hear me say more than once that I never thought Clapton was god, but I did think Jimmy Page was. Led Zeppelin makes the list twice: #8-"Stairway To Heaven" and #11-"Whole Lotta Love." It's difficult to argue with the choice of "Whole Lotta Love." Those growly blues riffs and the intense buildup of those zoomy sounds Page makes for once overshadow Robert Plant's screams. I'm going to offer instead the re-mastered version of one of my other faves, "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You," originally from their 1969 debut LP, still my favorite of theirs, which shows off a range of Page's styles as well as the group's deep blues roots.

Led Zeppelin: Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You (remastered)

Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits gets proper recognition but in my opinion #32-"Sultans of Swing" is not the best example of his skill. And since you can hear that and #94-"Money For Nothing" in any grocery store anytime, let's find something else. Maybe the sultan didn't want to make it cry or sing, but Knopfler makes that guitar weep and moan. What I love especially about Knopfler (and about Ry Cooder too) is that he plays the spaces between the notes. You know that next note is coming, but he makes you wait for it, anticipate it until your skin almost itches, then he gives it to you, and ahhhhhhh!!! Here's a live version in 320 kbps of one the best examples, and I have no idea why it isn't on the list. The gorgeous pedal steel at the end is Paul Franklin.

Dire Straits: Brothers In Arms from On the Night recorded live, 1992
Originally on Brothers In Arms (1985)
"We are fools to make war on our brothers in arms"

This is pretty fun, isn't it? How about more next Tuesday? Let me know.