Archives : all posts by Dan

Karl Blau - "Noah Richards Son"

Karl Blau wakes up, covered in sex, and sits aching up in the light blue dust of the morning. He scrapes his vision free from blurred sleep as if from the bottom of a pan and walks stretching to the shower. He showers just long enough for one thought to form: a warmonger is not a breed of dog, that was just a dream. Only one meal remains in the fridge, perfectly timed, as today will surely be his last where he'll be forced to eat like a regular human, a mortal. Check the calendar, the balcony, the street below, empty and stretched like sick vinyl, everything is right and in place. He dashes the remaining coffee in the sink, dons his coat and taps for his wallet, and sails out the window and over the traffic, not a care or worry in his head. Karl Blau (no relation) is an irresponsible so-and-so. [Available March 18th]

The Hykkers - "I Want a Break Thru"

Play this for all the times you're living in Brooklyn in 1973. [Buy]

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The WFMU pledge drive has started. I'll be pledging big-time tonight during Best Show and I really think you should do the same. They create, and fully store in archives, some of the best radio around.

Edit: Tom Scharpling raises 40,000.00 in one show. Incredible. And still next week left.

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Destroyer - "Introducing Angels"

I'm finally ready to do it. I'm ready to post about Trouble in Dreams. Just in regular listening, the album is already up over 20 plays. The other day, I had to walk a great distance, so I listened to it all the way through, then listened to Streethawk: A Seduction because I wanted to test my theory that they were sister albums (they are) and then when that was over I went back and listened to Trouble in Dreams again, entirely. Admittedly, that was too much. But when you hear this, 7 songs in, and you're on the beach and it starts snowing, dreamily combining the two most relaxing things, you feel both confused and completely safe, both at peace and oddly stirred. It's serene and anthemic, lush and bursting, smiling and a bit cynical. It's the most cloud-riding (yes, I did) song on the album, and marks the pinkest point, for every Destroyer album has a pinkest point, a sharpest point, a golden moment, and a win. [Pre-order]

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happy birthday, meaghan.

Okay, here we go with the first installment of winners of the Wonderful Video Contest. I'm so excited to show you the work that's been done, but even more excited to hear what you think about it. Today, and for the next 2 Mondays when we announce winners, the comments aren't for us, they're for the filmmakers, so let them know what you think, because they would love it. You would love it too.

13. CSS - "Poney Honey Money"
video by Renata Takatu and Guilherme Amorozo
renatatakatu @ gmail.com

In Renata's own words, it's "sort of a stripped down version of Oasis' "Let There Be Love" in full color [but] much cooler". That's exactly what it is. I'm reminded of Pavement's "Range Life" video as well, which is more similar in showing how much fun the band is. I've never seen a better portrait of a band playing a show for nine people than this. It's obvious why they have probably never played for nine people since. (awarded Dreamboat Records prizepack, Young God prizepack)

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12. Beirut - "Forks and Knives"
video by Timothy Krings & Jason Whalen
tjkrings @ gmail.com

This has fantastic pace. It has space and speed yet wonder and pause. It's like a love letter written to how much can get done in one day. This is the last day of the year, so it's great checking-up on everything they have. On their city, on their friends, of all their senses, both dulled and sharp. Very crisp, like brisk air, or the blare of a siren ripping through the night. (awarded Arts & Crafts prizepack)

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11. Sufjan Stevens - "Decatur"
video by Ainslee Wallis
aaw0068 @ unt.edu

Sufjan Stevens's "Decatur" is tune-as-catalog, more bulleted list than pop-song. Ainsley's video recognises this and celebrates it. Whereas he plays with rhyme, she plays with line. I love how it seems a process of discovery, the filmmaker discovering tricks as she goes - the way some drawings turn out better than others, some images lingered on and others just teases. Most of all, I like the aquarium: that Ainsley's filled the spaces in Stevens's song - how she's added to his endless series, unfazed by his verbosity. Also: seems like it was tons of fun to make. (awarded Polyvinyl prizepack)

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10. Spoon - "Back to the Life"
video by Mike Bennett
mikebennett6 @ hotmail.com

Mike Bennett's video for "Back to the Life" doesn't just capture the flat/clap/snap of Spoon's song, or a certain fluorescent kind of insomnia: it's also cut with a whimsy and care that make a joke out of the tiredness, that find a punchline in the fatigue. It's a film that brings new ideas with every go-round, and is, man, yeah, so great. (awarded Merge prizepack)

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So that's this week's installment. Next Monday: the 1st runners-up.

Annie Lennox - "No More "I Love You's""

This song has been in my head for about 3 years. It feels like velvet covered in rhinestones, which is weird because that was the aesthetic of the previous album, but it reminds me always of valentine's day. Like most holidays, it has grown into an adult that the child said it would never become, it's kind of a tacky version of fancy, a bit tragic, but still with shades of humanity. Which is what this song embodies. It's got a beautiful idea, and the phrase "language is leaving me", and a lovely chord progression, but it's also got that organ that's like a saccharine veil over the whole thing, and it's got tons of superfluous trimmings, like that terrible section where she talks in a kid's voice about monsters. But it's how this song ought to sound, it makes sense within the parameters set out, so I guess valentine's day kind of makes sense, if you really squint. [Buy]

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WONDERFUL VIDEO CONTEST NEWS:

First of all, I'll say that we were completely amazed with the turnout, and the quality, for the contest. We received over 100 submissions of hand-made movies that it was a complete pleasure, a joy, to watch. We have finished the judging process and winners will be notified soon. We will take the next 3 Mondays to divulge all the winners, there are that many, and they're that good. It was a huge success and I can't wait for you to see all this great stuff.

During the run of the contest, the National Film Board got in touch with us and wanted to include prizes of their own, and we were more than happy to oblige. So in addition to all the prizes being won, every winner will receive a DVD of the Oscar-nominated short animation Mme. Tuttli-Puttli. It's a mysterious and sumptuous stop-motion that had me marveling and wide-eyed the whole time. A perfect little bonus, for which we're very grateful.

To all who submitted, thank you so much for putting yourselves to so much effort for this small community of like-minded music lovers. You truly get what we're trying at.

Until Monday, then.

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(photo: uncredited)

Françoise Hardy - "je n'attends plus personne"

This is like the grandmother to that Kills song. I have a French grandmother, and I really like to imagine her swaying to this song. All its chin-up resolve and grit, all its wholly awesome buzzing guitar and orchestral stabs. The Florida wind softly blowing through her silver hair, standing proud on her balcony, overseeing the Tallahassee skyline, thinking about the thousands of people her life has brushed, like when you let someone go in front of you in a parking lot, or when you wait for them to finish on the payphone, or you accidently include their groceries with yours, or you get a wrong number, or you get served by them at a restaurant, or you kiss them once and forget their face, or you trip over their bag on the subway, or you hug them because you have to, or you pick up their wallet off the sidewalk, or you catch them singing to themselves and on and on and on as it fades out. The song actually continues, it's just that you can't hear it anymore. [Buy]

Rafter - "Candy Sprinkles"

This crashes like a cloud onto your lap and plays around like some lovely banjo pet. I'm being cute because I'm under the spell of this blue moon dreamstate puffball with baby cooing samples and tiny shakers that sound, for reasons unknown to me, that they're being shaken by a child. It's completely "a certain way" but tonight, the bass is just right, like a comfy seat, and the lyrics, even the "ahhhs", reach a kind of Flaming Lips-level simplicity and effectiveness. I'm not afraid to like it. And saying that makes it true. [Buy]

Roy Orbison - "Leah"

A bricklayer shows up for work on time to find his supplies, finally, arrived. The skid of dark bricks sit in a neat pile like a present, or a meal. Probably dropped off by some young forklift driver just before dawn. He works hard into the morning, the sun like an annoying but warm friend, the dew making the work wet and bright. He sits on a stool stuck in the mud, his back no longer able to handle the crouching. The work is slower, but so it goes. Three windows, two holes for piping, trim on the windows, and irregular inlays. Between post-sanding the bricks and waiting for more mortar, only so much can get done in a day. A couple of text messages, a bagel and an orange, two coffees and almost a litre of water, a busted trowel and not a single cigarette. A few pages of Fahrenheit 451, a sexy look from one of the neighbours, a terrible joke from the foreman with a lengthy pretend laugh, and still all the trim and the inlays done. Slower, my foot. Getting better and better. [Buy]

No Kids - "I Love the WeekEnd"

Well, if it isn't my little bird friend. What have you been up to, little bird? What's that? You're voting today? Hey, that's great, little bird. Who are you voting for? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. I know it's none of my business. I know that's private. Hey, where are you going, little bird? Can I come? Thanks! ...Woah, flying is great! Hey, little bird, seriously, I'm sorry about back there, I--woah, a McDonald's!--I mean, I know it's rude. To ask. Oh, we're going so high! ...But I mean, you've already decided, it doesn't really matter anymore, you could just tell me. Why do I care? I don't care, little bird. Don't tell me. If you want to be a prick about it. It's not that I care, I just... no forget it. No, it's nothing. I said forget it! Well, fine, it's just that I spent the whole weekend making milkshakes and origami, I didn't give it any thought, and now I don't know who to vote for and I have to today. What's that? Yeah, I guess you could say I was looking for a suggestion. No, I'm not. I'm not weak-minded, little bird. I'm not. I just wanted a few strawberry shakes, is all. Can't a guy have a strawberry shake when he wants one? Aw, come on, little bird, let's just fly and not fight. The traffic below is so peaceful. Swoop! [Pre-Order]

Kara Keith - "Kick This City"

This is a rather normal song, with a marvelous and fist-shaking refrain, marvelous enough to make me love the whole thing. In words from the as-yet-unpostable but completely brilliant new Destroyer album: "a chorus is a thing that bears repeating". [Buy]

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As of this writing, February 5th, The Luyas Faker Death is now available across Canada via the Fusion3 network, which means you can ask for it at any record store and they can get it. And you should ask for it, it's incredible, flawless. I just saw them live, too, and they were perfect.

And also, Canadians, I made a film in 2007 called "Beth", and it is playing on Bravo! on Wednesday (tomorrow) at 5:43pm. If you have that channel, you should watch it. It's a cloudy and quiet little film, a 5-minute character study of a woman coming to grips with becoming a single mother (write what you know!). It stars gemini-winner Cara Pifko (from CBC's This is Wonderland) and the irreplaceable Paul Spence (Canadian cult film FUBAR). with music by Jordan Himelfarb, and written and directed by me.

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And lastly, the video contest deadline is tonight at midnight. yes.