Xiu Xiu Interview

Did another band interview as part of a video series here at Wesleyan--this time, I interviewed Xiu Xiu, a really awesome avant-garde group from California. Here's the video.

In a nutshell, very raw, at times emotional lyrics, along with a variety of different types of sound and sound texture.

Check them--and especially this kind of controversial music video to their song "Dear God, I Hate Myself"--out.

"House Sparrow," by Xiu Xiu from Dear God, I Hate Myself (2010)


"Brian the Vampire," by Xiu Xiu from Fabulous Muscles (2004)


--A

Bear in Heaven Video

The video from the live show Bear in Heaven played at Wesleyan a little while back, along with clips from the pre-show/post-show interviews; I'm mostly edited out, but I get a word in here and there.

--A

Don't bother leaving, we're already gone

Bear in Heaven's second album, Beast Rest Forth Mouth, came out just about a year ago and got the oh-so-great honor of getting a Pitchfork shout-out. Did I say "a shout-out?" I meant "recognition as 'Best New Music.'" Long story short, they rule, and their live set is dope. They played a show here at Wesleyan this past weekend, and here's what they said:

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Bear In Heaven Did we mention last nights show at Wesleyan was off the charts? Finally some serious crowd surfing.

Sunday at 13:33 via Facebook for iPhone

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I got to interview the band before and after they performed--chatted about shoes, glitter, Ionic columns, and toilet paper, to name a few topics of conversation. When the video's all pretty and edited (which may not be for a bit), I'll be sure to throw up a link.

For now, here's these:

"Beast in Peace" by Bear in Heaven


"Dust Cloud" by Bear in Heaven


--A

Sick Day Soundtrack

Holla if you skipped class todayyyyyy...!

"Dragonfly Across an Ancient Sky" by Helios

"Boy with a Coin" by Iron and Wine

"Postcards from Italy" by Beiruit

"Used to Be" by Beach House

"Primitive Man" by Fruit Bats

"Left Bank" by Air

--A

ADDENDUM:

"Sunshine" by Atmosphere from Sad Clown (2007)

-S

Driving-Off-to-College Soundtrack

Quietish tunes for an early morning (for me) car ride. (Two of these artists are friends/alum from my very own high school! I'll leave you to guess which ones.)

"Postcards from Italy" by Beiruit

"Boy Lilikoi" by Jónsi

"La Valse d'Amélie (Orchestral)" by Yann Tiersen

"Homesick" by the Novel Ideas

"a song for staying in" by the tumbled sea

--A

Packing-for-College Soundtrack

Shippin' out of Boston tomorrow!

"Lisztomania," by Phoenix

"Rainy Monday," by Shiny Toy Guns

"Cecilia," by Simon and Garfunkel

"Sir Duke," by Stevie Wonder

"Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa," by Vampire Weekend

"Holland 1945," by Neutral Milk Hotel

"Talking Hotel Arbat Blues," by Handsome Furs

"Stereo," by Pavement

--A

Such a constant ache in me

Back from a long hiatus in posting! Anyway, I may have mentioned my habit of choosing one or two songs from the masses of albums I download, and letting the rest molder un-listened-to on my computer. If I haven't mentioned it, well... there it is. The plus side of the situation is that sometimes as I idly scroll through my iTunes library, I happen upon something quite nice.

That's what happened with "Complimentary Me" by Elizabeth and the Catapult, a Brooklyn-based trio. Ran across it today during some idle scrolling and was a fan from the get-go. The song's opening definitely sets the tone, with an upbeat harmonica/guitar intro that introduces the folksy, almost western feel (not unlike the stylings of London band Mumford and Sons).

It steadily gets better from there, with Elizabeth Ziman's positively lovely voice and the rollicking, toe-tapping choruses. Ziman's singing has this great clarity, with a slightly breathy edge that borders on that crack-y, riff-y, country-western vocal style (reminds me a little of Flroence Welch of Florence and the Machine). Her lyrics are sweetly perplexed, warmly sad, and altogether charming.

The only thing that bothers me about this song: in the context of the lyrics--"Oh dear me, what a strange peculiar thing that I should always see someone just like me"--doesn't she mean, Complementary Me? Hmm. We'll never know.

"Complimentary Me" by Elizabeth and the Catapult, from Taller Children (2009)

--A

Any way you can be found

I gotta say, the more and more music I listen to, the more similarities I find in bands of a specific genre or time. Now, some would say that songs with in a genre should be inherently similar. But often it is not in such a way that makes you think it's so similar you've heard it before. It's almost as if a formula has been laid out and just recycled over and over.

In this case, the song is "Abandon" by French Kicks (another find by fellow editor A). The song just sounds so incredibly familiar that you can almost predict its patterns, its lulls, its crescendos. On the other hand, though, it feels good every time I hear it. I don't mind the patterns; when something works, it truly works. The more I listen, the more it comes into its own... but I just feel as if I've heard it before-and that's fine, it just drives me crazy.

The song starts out with this electric guitar solo coupled with a syncopated clap that grabs you right away-cue drums-cue keyboard... now we are really vibing. However, it doesn't seem to do much from there (but like I said it works). The singer, Nick Stumpf, has this crazy loftiness to his voice (think Fleet Foxes). Granted this isn't the greatest track I've ever heard-but it is jam-worthy and slowly gaining steam on my play count right now.

"Abandon" by French Kicks from Swimming (2008)

-S

Bones bones brittle little bones

This is a pretty feel-good/end-of-the-summer track from Canadian band Islands. I think I've mentioned Islands before (at least in passing or in a playlist). I first caught wind of Islands through a CD swap and frankly, wasn't all that impressed. They were a little generic and, overall, did not do it for me.

However "Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby" is a pretty polished and up-beat pop track (credit to fellow editor A for digging it up). Fresh doesn't even begin to describe how the track feels. It kind of has the Brett Dennen happy thing going, and it kind of gives me a toothache in the same way Dennen does (because its way too sweet in its composition). The song also has that same "Electro-Socket Blues" (a Rogue Wave song) thing going in terms of the content of the song. "Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby," as far as I can discern, is about eating disorders. The lyrics actually lean towards brilliance: "total void tells me stories/sometimes they make me sorry," sings Nick Diamonds, Islands frontman.

The song is great-enjoy the last bit of summer.

"Don't Call Me Whitney, Bobby" by Islands from Return To The Sea (2006)

-S

A leetle something sweet for the summer

First off, a big ole thank you to "S" for letting me in on B'Rhythms.

I don't remember how I ran across Shugo Tokumaru, but he's one of those artists whose genre listings were enough introduction for me before I went ahead and got his most recent album, Port Entropy (2010). (I have a really bad habit of downloading entire albums from bands I've never heard of before without having heard any of their music; I just trust the reviews or blurbs or, in this case, genre listings. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't.) Myspace Music page classifies Tokumaru as "Alternative/Pop/Experimental," while Wikipedia lumps him into "Indie folk, Indie pop," and the less-expected "Psych pop" (?).

After listening through Port Entropy, I realized that Shugo Tokumaru's music doesn't really fall into any one category. Definitely poppy, indie, folk in a more Eastern sense—but there's something more to it, with its happy-go-lucky feel, sweet and slightly washed-out vocals, and extensive range of instrumentation (don't quote me, but I swear I heard a theremin in there somewhere). I want to call it glo-fi—it has that same laid-back, slightly nostalgic, almost imperceptibly melancholy feel—but Shugo Tokumaru's on a label and I'm pretty sure he records in a studio, so he's not really lo-fi.

Give 'em a listen—really great for those lazy summer mornings.

"Parachute" by Shugo Tokumaru from EXIT (2007)

"Rum Hee" by Shugo Tokumaru from Port Entropy (2010)

-A