The theme at Said the Gramophone this week, through no efforts of my or Dan's own, appears to have been sex appeal. I had expected it to be coincidences, bling, the frustrations of noise music, or the cities built by buildings - but nay, no. Instead it's the way words slide on tongues, the clumsy and the quick; the way our pistachio-green background might just make you blush.
Or so I would like to imagine.
Let's imagine a photo booth.
Ola Podrida - "Photo Booth". I wrote about Ola Podrida months ago, with demos in my hands (fish-hooks were on the brain, even then). But now the album is finished, due out on Plug Research in 2007, and it's become pretty clear: this is a record I want to keep with me. David Wingo's songs at first seem modest and merely warm - lullabyes, irons & wines. But what I've found is that the songs are hot. Behind all that lull is organ churn, guitar resound, sharp want and skin-on-skin. "Down each-others' pants / in the photo-booth." The folksy calm lets the songs feel easy, lets them feel familiar; and yet deep in there, beneath the easy and familiar songs, is something more than status quo. There's a fierceness that feeds these soft-voiced things, something far too sensuous for bedtime. If this were a 2006 album, it would be one of my albums of the year.
Everybody Cares, Everybody Understands has the finished "Instead," perhaps the album's best song - the demo of which was posted on StG way-back-when.
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Chet Baker - "I Get Along Without You Very Well". The xylophone that opens this song is the sound of everything, everything spilled. But don't worry. Chet starts singing. Everything's fine now.
Elsewhere:
Skatterbrain has a new song by Phantom Buffalo!
My Best of 2006 Contest is still on: enter and win an excellent CD.
Finally, do we have any readers in Krakow, Iceland or Istanbul? (Or for that matter, other than the ones I know, in Paris?) Please consider getting in touch - I'm coming to visit.
(photo by this girl)
Posted by Sean at December 1, 2006 4:00 AMIstanbul?? yup, I am there.When?
Posted by: Ozgur at December 1, 2006 9:49 AMGlad to hear you like the finished Ola Podrida record so much, Sean. I feel exactly the same...
Posted by: Chad at December 1, 2006 11:52 AMsame thing chad said...excellent post sean.
Posted by: chris at December 1, 2006 7:35 PMI Get Along Without You Very Well
-beautiful song, although that's not a xylophone in the beginning. It's a Celesta, which is played with a keyboard. One might recognize its sound from Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, where it was often used by musical director Johnny Costa.
Posted by: Hussalonia at December 2, 2006 6:55 AMMy favorite use of the celesta is in Buddy Holly's "Everyday".
Posted by: jay at December 2, 2006 3:33 PMI had a dream about Said the Gramophone last night (no, really, I just woke up from it). There was muted spring green everywhere. Jordan had made a gargantuan post about some short films loosely based on mystery stories. But since it was a dream, they weren't movies, we (even though I don't know what any of you look like) were there, watching horror stories play out. I must say, it was the best post Jordan ever made.
My interpretation: I'm addicted to the posts of Said the Gramophone.
I can't wait for the full length from Ola Podrida. There's a demo that I got of them doing a song I think called, "Taking Time" which is incredible and I really like "Run Off The Road" a whole lot.
The weird thing is that I can't put my finger on what it is about the demos that is so damn good, but it's hypnotic. Wingo's voice matches well with the sound production.
Posted by: lucas at December 4, 2006 7:49 PMeverything is not fine with Chet Baker. he's making me so sad, like usual.
Posted by: ladyday at December 6, 2006 10:28 PM