Under a tree, above the Earth.

There are so many genres of music out there, and almost every one of them offers something worthwhile. We've reached the point in music history where many of those genres are becoming blended together so seamlessly that it's almost impossible to distinguish what certain things are.

Yesterday I had time to kill between work and class, so I decided to lay down under a tree and listen to some music. I happened to put on the new album Helios, called Eingya. I've listened to it a few times before, mostly at night before bed. I knew from the beginning it was an album that, like other "atmospheric" albums, required a certain time and mindset to be properly listened to. The genre of this album could be any of a handful, but no one title would properly explain the music on this disk. I decided I would call it classical-ambient-elctro-post-rock. It's an album with lots of space and lots of sound. The electronics and the actual instruments are lost within each other, it's almost indistinguishable what is organic and what is electronic. The sound pours out of the speakers just the way it should; the layers don't come across as layers as much as one instrument playing exactly what it should.

In Greek mythology, Helios was the personification of the sun, the source of all life and hope. Helios had a sun who set the Earth on fire. The name seems entirely appropriate.

The album puts forth a feeling of vastness, but not fear of that space. In this way the cover art works extremely well, standing in front of an impossible distance, with the calming hand of another in your own. Listening to it is a bit like standing on the edge of a cliff, eyes closed, arms open. It's a sigh of relief and anticipation. Sounds of birds in the distance, running water, and the confident echoes of the future. Much like those sounds of nature, this album makes sense of the world, even when your mind can't seem to put it together. Slowly evolving melodies play out like the history of the world with all the bleakness cut out, with only the residue of sadness left to remind us that it's real. Fuck Sigur Ros, they should have let this guy do the music for Vanilla Sky.

Am I being over the top here? I never claimed I was Bukowski. It's become clear that I write in here for myself though. Fuck you, it's fun.

This should really be listened to on headphones, with no one around. Outside is preferable as well. Oh, and turn it up. Wouldn't want you to miss anything.

Helios - Coast Off

I hear that tune in the breeze...

Here's a guy with a whiskey soaked voice who was raised on a farm and writes country songs that exposes that radio crap as the abortion it is. Not that there is much similarity between the stuff self proclaimed country stations play and actual country music.

Anyways, this guys writes some beautiful stuff. Here is a song by him called dry.

William Elliott Whitmore - Dry

It's a labor of love, fucking yourself to death.

Buzzcocks - Orgasm Addict

Rock and Roll Revelation

If you've ever felt like you wanted to give up everything for sex, drugs, and rock and roll, but mostly just rock and roll, listen to this song.

The Hold Steady - Stevie Nix

Fall Concert Scouting Report

09/11/2006 (Monday) - Magnolia Electric Co. - Blind Pig - Ann Arbor, MI

09/28/2006 (Thursday) - Built To Spill - St. Andrews Hall - Detroit, MI

10/04/2006 (Wednesday) - Yo La Tengo - Michigan Theater - Ann Arbor, MI

10/06/2006 (Friday) - Wilco - Michigan State Auditorium - East Lansing, MI

10/09/2006 (Monday) - Okkervil River - Blind Pig - Ann Arbor, MI

10/10/2006 (Tuesday) - TV on The Radio - St. Andrews Hall - Detroit, MI

10/27/2006 (Friday) - The Hold Steady - The Magic Stick - Detroit, MI

11/11/2006 (Saturday) - Broken Social Scene - Michigan Theater - Ann Arbor, MI

Not a single wave.

I think Jason Molina has been previously mentioned in this blog in reference to the level of emotional attachment I have to his music. To me, there is absolutely no one on this planet who seems to understand the sadder half of the world like Molina. Between his solo work, the Songs: Ohia catalogue (if you don't have Magnolia Electric Co. please please get it), and the more recent stuff with the band named after the aforementioned album Magnolia Electric Company, he has put together a group of work that is seriously impressive. Easily one of the best lyricists working today, Molina writes heartbreaking alternative country songs in the vein of Neil Young. But his work is a work all of it's own. Jason's voice has an otherworldly quality that couldn't better fit his melancholy lyrics.

Looking back I'm not really sure why I think I can explain in words here why his music is so important to me. I'd love to be that good of a writer, but when music hits you so hard every time you listen to it that your stomach just drops and all you can do is look at the person next to you and hope that they get it too, there's really not much you can do.

His new solo album Let Me Go Let Me Go Let Me Go leaked awhile back, and I neglected to mention it because I remember so well the way his last solo project, Pyramid Electric Co., slowly worked it's way into my head, my heart, and my stomach. I remember listening to it a couple times and not really "getting it". The songs were so sparse, so empty, so atmospheric, and so unstructured that it was really hard to grab a hold of them and understand them. It's the kind of music that requires a seriously perfect moment to dawn on you. Mine with that album happened the summer between my senior year of high school and my freshman year of college. A few of us went camping up in Canada as kind of a last ho-rah before leaving for school. We were on a day long hike and my mind started to wander and worry about my future, I got pretty emotional thinking about the relationships I had lost or let fade and the relationships that would disappear when I moved away to school. I happened to put Pyramid Electric Co. on while walking through the most beautiful woods I've ever been to, and slowly Molina's voice worked it's magic. It was one of those moments where I felt so terribly sad, but reveled in the magic of having such strong emotion in such an amazing place, on the cusp of one of the biggest changes my life would ever experience.

Not to say that I've had any sort of similar experience with Let Me Go Let Me Go Let Me Go, but it's had a bit of time to settle in, and at this point I can say that I think it's of comparable quality as his last solo effort. It's dark, sparse, and sad in the best possible way. I don't think there is another songwriter anywhere that can get away with this kind of depression. It's the kind of music I almost get scared to share with the world because I figure there can only be two reactions to such a thing. 1) The new listener wonders how the fuck anyone can listen to such music and function normally in this world, or 2) the new listener is dragged into Molina's world, and it profoundly changes their outlook on things. I'm pretty sure outcome two would be a good thing, but it's a risky business for sure.

i stood beside the ocean, not a single wave.

not a single thing left to say.

with the owl howlin' pain pain pain

with the ocean howlin' the same

with my life howlin' the same...

did i have to live this way?

Jason Molina - Alone With The Owl
Songs: Ohia - Almost Was Good Enough

I included a solo song as well as a Songs: Ohia song, because the two styles are profoundly different. And profoundly awesome. Godspeed.

The tired sounds of ambience.

Man things are moving really fast lately, I've gotten behind on what I wanted to be doing with this site here, and I apologize for that, but I offer you a small update as a sign of goodwill.

One genre of music that I feel is highly neglected by most everyone is ambient. Ambient music to most people is more noise or sound than it is music, and that's a semi valid opinion. Ambient music is defined by the idea that it doesn't actually draw attention to itself. You're supposed to be able to listen to it without paying attention, and the music should mold and change your mood to suit the artists intent. According to Brian Eno, who pioneered the ambient movement and coined the term, "Ambient Music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular; it must be as ignorable as it is interesting." I know what you're thinking, sounds boring. But if you want my opinion it's usually way more interesting than that white guy with a guitar bullshit. And besides, it's absolutely fantastic to fall asleep to, or even for walking on one of those nights where you and the world seem just a little off. Ambient music is best used to put the listener at peace with themselves, for times when words and melodies seem too anchored to the material world.

Here is a song by Eluvium, maybe the best act in ambient today. It's off last years "Talk Amongst the Trees", and album I still listen to religiously.

Eluvium - Everything To Come

I've been thinking of making an ambient mix and putting it up on here, but I'm thinking it would take a good bit of work and I don't know if anyone would actually be interested. It would be cool if you guys could leave a comment telling me what you think.

I guess I should also update on a couple things I've been listening to lately. The new Max Richter album, "Songs From Before", has been lulling me to sleep the past couple nights. His work is what would most accurately be referred to as post-classical, blending flowing string arrangements with soft electronics and some spoken word. It really comes together well, and I think the song I've uploaded here is one of the more beautiful songs I've heard this year. It's two parts so I upped both of them. Pretty great.

Max Richter - Autumn Music 1
Max Richter - Autumn Music 2

The new record from Cyann and Ben is pretty great as well. They do a great job of mixing the sounds of post-rock, electronica, and dream pop into a sound all their own. Doing everything from fuzzed out guitar anthems to pretty piano ballads, and doing it well, "Sweet Beliefs" is definitely an album worth hearing. This song starts with humble structured beginnings and builds into a tremendous climax in only three and a half minutes. It's very good.

Cyann and Ben - Let it Play

P4K Day 2

Day two. This day was better than the first day. Just as hot but this time around I planned the day much better and wasn't dying by 5:00.

The first notable set we saw was The National, a show I've been excited about since seeing them in Grand Rapids a couple months ago. Here's a band that knows full well the power of the Pitchfork gospel. The fork gave 2005's Alligator a measly 7.9. 7.9!!?!?! It was the best album that came out last year and was treated as average by the site that put this festival on, so I felt as though the band was there with something to prove to a crowd that may not have been prepared to take them seriously. But then they played "Abel" and suddenly thousands of onlookers became believers. Oh yeah. The set rocked, they played a couple new songs which sounded great. Good stuff.

This is where the day took a turn for the fucking awesome. We left Aesop Rock/Mr Lif's set a bit early (which was great by the way, check those guys out if you like hip-hop) to get a good spot for punk legends Mission of Burma. Pretty much the best decision ever.

Mission of Burma was formed in 1980. That's 26 years ago. They made a name for themselves by being really fucking loud and once and awhile pumping out a catchy chorus. But mostly they just rocked really hard. They broke up in 1983 but reunited in 2002, which for most bands of semi-legendary status is a scary thing, because let's face it, these reunion things usually suck. Burma though rocks too heavily to put together a shitty reunion, this years album The Obliterati is pretty great. Despite all this I still had my reservations about just how hard a band that started 26 years ago could rock. I've gotta stop being reserved all the time, I'm always fucking wrong. MOB embarrassed pretty much everyone at the festival except maybe Yo La Tengo. Maybe I was on drugs or something, but they played outrageously well and outrageously hard. I was seriously impressed that these old bastards weren't passing out. They played a great mix of songs ranging from the fist pumping catchy awesome sing-along "That's When I Reach For My Revolver", to the darker heavier stuff. One of the best shows I've ever seen.

So after my ears sort of recovered a little bit from Burma's set it was Yo La Tengo's turn to show me what was up. Yo La Tengo is one of my favorite bands, another veteran group that has been playing together for over 20 years and has still remained not only relevant, but better than pretty much everyone else. I'd heard stories of their concerts changing peoples lives, so needless to say I was really fucking excited. They didn't disappoint with their performance, they performed the songs with flawlessly and passionately. The thing that was a let down in a way to me, and even more so I think for the rest of the crowd, was the setlist which drew almost exclusively from the forthcoming album I Am Not Afraid of You, and I Will Beat Your Ass, an incomplete version of which leaked a couple weeks back. Luckily I've listened to it a lot, and the album is going to be absolutely phenomenal, but I still really wanted to hear some of their old material. You know, maybe a little "Deeper Into Movies" action. But beyond silly little setlist gripes, the set was mindblowingly good. YLT is maybe the most versatile band in the business, and it really shows live. The 15 minute wall of sound fuzzed out guitar jams resided right along side delicate and beautiful pop songs. But the guitar was really what the show was about. I can't even explain how insane "The Story Of" was, so I included a short video here so you can see for yourself. Unfortunately the audio is pretty much unlistenable because, you know, they were rocking out so loud that it distorts, but just watch him go nuts and envy the fact that you weren't there. Lucky for you we can go see them in Ann Arbor October 4th. Put it on the calendar kids, it's going to be a religious experience. Or something hyperbolic like that.

Side note, Ace from Aesop Rock looks just like Jimmy Fallon.



And the downloads.

The National - Abel

Mission of Burma - That's When I Reach For My Revolver

Yo La Tengo - Deeper Into Movies

The National:


Me rocking out during The National:


Mission of Burma:




Yo La Tengo:

P4K Day 1

The term "Pitchfork", for those of us in the know or whatever, carries with it quite a stigma. Pitchfork has quickly become the face and the butt of indie and hipster culture. Thousands of kids silently put a lot of weight in what that silly website has to say on a daily basis. I won't deny that I read it everyday, I do. It's a good source for news more than anything to me, and occasionally I find myself intrigued by a review. That is if I happen to read passed the first paragraph. But, regardless of your feelings about the big nuts the fork swings in this strange culture of ours, there is only one thing that can make us put our reservations aside and say "up top!" to Pitchfork Media. Pitchfork Music Festival.

So, here is my brief account of the happenings of this past weekend in Chicago.

Day one. Fuck was it hot. The first band we saw when we got there was Man Man. You might remember them from like two entries ago when I posted the video for Engwish Bwud. These dudes... these dudes are fucking nuts and hilarious. They wore white clothes, head bands, and war paint. The show was as interesting and awesome to watch as it was to hear, they screamed and yelped their way through their set, finding time to bang on anything they could find in the midst of opening bags of multicolored feathers and tossing them in the air as well as throwing spoons at a metal bowl as a form of percussion. Yeah, I don't know either. But it was awesome.

The second real highlight of the day was Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. I'd seen them the night before in Lansing so I wasn't too pumped for their set, but fuck me did they rock. The set was very similar to the night before, the obvious highlights of "Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?", "Me and Mia", and "Timorous Me" were all there and rocking real hard. But the shit really hit the fan during the set closer "The Ballad of Sin Eater", in which Ted ditched his guitar to holler his ass off into the mic. I mean this guy went off and decided to show the crowd just how kick ass he was when he repeatedly bashed his forehead on the microphone, on beat mind you, until his face was covered with blood. And he just kept on rocking. It was probably the most rock and roll moment of the weekend.

Unlikely headliners The Silver Jews closed out the night with a suprisingly near flawless set. With all that I'd heard about frontman Steve Berman's mental instabilities and fear of crowds I thought we were in for some serious social awkwardness, but Mr. Berman kept it together extremely well and put on an awesome show. They played "Random Rules", one of my favorite songs ever, so I was smitten. That, and Steve's wife, the bass player, is about the sexiest woman I've ever seen.

I'm not saying that Destroyer, The Walkmen, Futureheads, Art Brut, etc. weren't good or whatever. This atmosphere at the fest made it hard to enjoy a set unless you had a good spot, and it was impossible to do for everyone. I will say Destroyer impressed even from a distance though.

Day two was better. That little piece I'll do tomorrow I guess. It's getting late and I have to get drunk. But here are some downloads and pictures of the dudes I talked about in this entry.

Man Man - Black Mission Goggles

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - Where Have All the Rude Boys Gone?

Silver Jews - Random Rules

Man Man:


Ted Leo:


Silver Jews: