Tracks of the Week, 4/18/10 - 4/24/10

Another installment of Tracks of the Week? Time flies. Anyways, this week, spotlight's on Tom Waits, Icelandic post-rawkers Sigur Ros, and indie-rock idols Pavement. Thanks for reading, boys and girls!

I'm finally listening to Rain Dogs after being hounded to do it by a friend for quite some time now. I've only given the album a few spins, but so far, no song has hit me quite like "Singapore". Give it a listen if you aren't already a Waits fan; his voice is hard not to love.

While Sigur Ros are most famous for making ten-minute emotional epics, "Hoppipolla" proves that they can jam just as much emotion into a four-minute, Icelandic radio-friendly track and get twice the results. Rock on, Jonsi.

It's truly a shame I never noticed this song on my first 2,000 listens to Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain; Malkmus's voice is at an all time high during the verses of "Gold Soundz", which boast perhaps some of the finest melodies Pavement has ever composed.

Interpol - Turn on the Bright Lights

Turn on the Bright Lights was relatively well-received upon its release. Critics praised its isolated and barren atmosphere, backed by some of the most awkward lyrics of the decade and song titles like "Obstacle 1". But like anything else, it wasn't universally acclaimed. The finicky bloggers and journalists who didn't quite dig Paul Banks' act criticized the album for being a shoddy Joy Division imitation. Perhaps they said this to deter hopefuls from listening to Turn on the Bright Lights. But frankly, if Interpol are just a cheap mockery of their influences, then I really need to listen to Joy Division.

Like I briefly mentioned earlier, an aura of horrific desperation and loneliness pervades throughout Turn on the Bright Lights, namely on the void and vacant "Untitled" and bittersweet ode to the Big Apple "NYC".

Maybe if I'd been to a big city I'd understand it better. The emptiness, the heartbreak. Maybe then I'd understand the album more. Pitchfork described it as "the product of a bygone New York City filled with dank alleys and smoke-choked dives", words that mean nothing to someone like me, someone who hasn't even caught a glimpse of what makes this album so relatable to some people. And yet I can still feel the magic in the closing chords and gasps of "PDA", or the cries for acceptance in "The New". Maybe that's why Turn on the Bright Lights is as good as it is.

X - Los Angeles

Everything about X seems so generic at first glance. The band's name is just a letter, and their debut album, Los Angeles, shares a title with about 10,000 other songs already in existence. One of the band members goes by the name John Doe. Seriously, John Doe. From the eyes of an outsider, they're just another punk band to be forgotten in time. But as anyone who's heard this album in full could tell you, they have every reason to be distinguished from the pack of hard-nosed punks to emerge in the early '80s.

John Doe and Exene Cervenka, the dual leads of X, have crafted a unique blend of the 3-chord punk of their era and bluesy, '50s rock-and-roll riffs, prevalent in songs like "Johny Hit and Run Paulene", a dark and anarchic masterpiece so immediate in its message that it almost comes off as ironic. Los Angeles has no secrets, and at certain points, it almost feels like it was created to be as relentlessly blunt as possible, lyrics and music alike. It's by no means the best album ever spawned from the infamous California punk scene, but it's easily one of the most original and finely tuned the genre has to offer.

Final Score: 84/100

Tracks of the Week, 4/11/10 - 4/17/10

It's yet another installment of my favorite tracks as of late. This week, I spotlight Bruce Springsteen's Minneapolis disciples, the latest from everyone's favorite one-man dance-punk wrecking crew, and one of Canada's finest indie-rock collectives.


The Hold Steady - Constructive Summer

What better way to pay tributes to your elders than directly referencing Clash frontman Joe Strummer and naming your song after one of Husker Du's most popular tracks? The Hold Steady pull together all their influences for a three-minute thrill ride on the opening track to 2008's Stay Positive.


LCD Soundsystem - Drunk Girls

It's certainly no "All My Friends", but if "Drunk Girls" is any indication of the quality level of the up and coming LCD Soundsystem, then it's surely shaping up to be one of the most eagerly anticiapted records of 2010.


Arcade Fire - No Cars Go

Some say they lost their magic on Neon Bible, but you wouldn't be able to tell from hearing "No Cars Go". A track originally featured on their self-titled debut EP, the band somehow reworked the song to be even more bombastic and emotionally charged than before. Rah rah, Canada.


Once again, thanks much to all my readers.

Until next time...

The Replacements - Pleased to Meet Me

Sellouts? Not a chance.

Unfortunately, that's what Paul Westerberg and his gang see themselves as on Pleased to Meet Me, one of their first albums on a major label. Frankly, they have every right to; we've watched the slow demise of many indie darlings who hit a creative rock bottom under the immense pressure of larger record labels (see Liz Phair's self-titled album for a heartbreaking example of this). Luckily, the 'Mats did not fall victim to this pseudo-curse, and produced what is probably the best straightforward collection of songs in their discography.

While Pleased to Meet Me is undoubtedly more polished than its predecessors, the Replacements still manage to retain a bit of their D.I.Y. punk roots, flaunting rigid guitar riffs on tracks like "I.O.U." and "I Don't Know"; Westerberg wants you to know that the band hasn't gone completely soft. On the contrary, the album has no shortage of sentimental gems; "Skyway" is as poignant as it is short (and it's really short), and "Never Mind" is perhaps one of the most oft-ignored songs of the 1980s. But as great as it is, it will be living forever in the shadow of its forerunner, 1983's Let it Be.

Let it Be was a great album by all means, but on a song-by-song basis, it just doesn't hold up to some of the band's later efforts. But it blows their early work out of the water. By the time the band got around to working on a new record, they had tired of writing hard, fast punk, and decided to drop it in favor of something "a little more sincere". So they did, and spawned something very sarcastic, very raucous, and extremely influential. It received acclaim from every critical outlet imaginable, and while it was relatively unknown to the public at the time, it has since garnered much attention from fans of alternative rock everywhere. It's everything you could ask for in a college rock album; honesty, rawness, and even a little inconsistency... these are all the things that made it so perfect.

Why do I like Pleased to Meet Me more if it truly is inferior as an album? Maybe it's the grandiose way that the flawless "Can't Hardly Wait" closes the record. Maybe it's the slow, charming pseudo-jazz of "Nightclub Jitters". Maybe it has something to do with the ominous, sinister atmosphere of "The Ledge". Perhaps I'm crazy for preferring it. But there's something about this record that keeps me coming back for more.

Final Score: 90/100

Tracks of the Week, 4/4/10 - 4/10/10

I've decided to do a weekly segment dedicated to spotlighting songs I've really been digging lately, new or old starting this week. It will hopefully consist of three to four songs per week, complete with links from lala.com for you to hear the songs. Thanks for reading, and I hope you get to hear some new stuff!


Kanye West - Homecoming

One of my favorite songs in Kanye's discography is "Homecoming", a sincere ode to West's hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Kanye tells the tale of a girl called "Wendy", a rather clever metaphor for Chicago's notorious winds. My only complaint is that the heartfelt lyrics are masked by top-notch production and a piano riff Chopin would be proud of.

Big Star - September Gurls

After hearing about Big Star frontman Alex Chilton's tragic death a few weeks back, I was finally inspired to listen to some of the band's work. Radio City was my favorite from first listen, and no song stuck out like the jangly power-pop masterpiece "September Gurls". Hopefully this band will never be forgotten, and frankly, with songs like this, they shouldn't.

Tegan & Sara - Someday

The closer from Tegan and Sara's latest release, Sainthood, "Someday" manages to have a wonderful, anthemic pop hook without going too over the top. It's beautiful in its relative simplicity, and the sisters' voice sound great all through the track.

Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run

I'd like to forewarn you, my readers, that this review will at some point probably spiral into me heaping praise onto this album in a rather repetitive fashion. If this does not sound like your cup of tea, finish this paragraph and close the browser window. However, I will try my hardest to stray away from this, and instead, address the album from a completely objective point of view. Thank you for your attention.

We all have a favorite album, and whether it's something clichéd like Led Zeppelin IV or just something that reminds you of better, simpler days (I still have a copy of All Star Smash Hits by Smash Mouth around here somewhere...), our favorite albums hold a special place in our hearts, perhaps to never be dethroned. We get an adrenaline rush of powerful nostalgia when we hit the play button, and sing along wistfully as all the memories associated with the notes coming out of your stereo fill your brain. These are the albums that we play whenever it seems like nothing is going right in the world. And sometimes, I feel like no album will ever overthrow Born to Run as my personal favorite.

Bruce Springsteen is by no means perfect. His records have their shortcomings, just like any other. His voice can be a bit gritty at times. But what he has created on his 1975 commercial breakthrough is nothing short of an epic, pompous masterpiece, towering over the other urban poets of his own generation. Bruce has poured his soul into this album, from the delicate piano notes that open "Thunder Road" to the grand, theatrical final moments of "Jungleland". His incredible lyrics, epitomizing life in the backstreets of Jersey, bleed with sorrow and romanticism, but are dwarfed by the man's incredible ability to write a song. Just listen to the way he bridges the gap between the slums of the East Coast and bright lights, big city aesthetic of New York on "Meeting Across the River". Listen to the way the piano duels with the saxophone at the end of "Thunder Road", and try not to fall in love.

All in all, Springsteen and the E Street Band have created a truly lovely portrait of the woeful and heartbreaking life that inspired the Boss to create this masterpiece, one that will certain stand the test of time. Thank you very, very much for listening to me ramble.

Final Score: 100/100