Archives : all posts by Sean

It's been too long in coming, so here's a three-song, thirteen-minute update that puts the spotlight on Hayden.

Hayden's a packed-house star up here in the frosty Canadian wastes, and he can't be too fringe a figure in the American singer-songwriter arena, but his records still aren't mentioned in the sorts of places they should be. He's released five solid albums of brooding, mumbly music, and while his lyrics can be hit-and-miss, his melancholy sincerity is perfect for stormy Thursday afternoons, or as a relationship slowly comes apart. He lets little guitar sounds carry the pauses between words, lets the unsaid speak. And he rarely screeches. (Of course there's also the growly and raging "When This Is Over" which is whiney and abrasive, but in a Tom-Waits-as-teenage-angster kind of way.)

In chronological order, then:

Hayden - "You Are All I Have". My favourite Hayden song, recorded twice - an angrier, rawer version on Moving Careful, and again here on The Closer I Get. This is an exceedingly careful love song, as tentative as fingers brushing hair from a face. It's long and steadfastly simple, bold words over the a tickling, blossoming mandolin. Hayden takes such time letting the song fold open, letting it stretch and ripple and glow. Each time a line of the chorus is delivered, it's a pulse of something bigger, as Douglas Coupland wrote (about something else), "silver dollars, rubies, sugar candies." A man in front of a house at night, lit only by the dim porch light, his heart in his two hands. [buy]

Hayden - "Bass Song". From 2002's Skyscraper National Park. This one is a little more upbeat, at least in a musical sense. Live, it's led by the ringing piano sound, but on record it's a strange, macabre little thing, guitars and drums pulling the quiet piano around, introducing it to the cold, wet, twisting strings. It's a silly story: Hayden in his home as burglars break in. "I couldn't hear them / with my headphones on / recording a song." But things go queer in the second half, as he "grab[s] [his] bass guitar by the neck," to be found "five days after [he] hit the ground." The same cautionary guitar tootles along, but in come the strings again, wheeling and winding, a slow-motion dance, dark violet figures on a candlelit floor. [buy]

Hayden - "Home by Saturday". Finally, the second track from Hayden's 2004 record, Elk Lake Serenade. Here he is in his slightly more rustic mode, with the kind of urban country-folk that landed him the soundtrack for 1996's Trees Lounge (with Steve Buscemi! As an unemployed drinker who's down on his luck!). There's an affectionate ring to Hayden's voice, in the long highways he imagines beyond the end of the song. A pedal steel underlines the man's not-quite-weariness, his not-quite-longing. As everything tramps casually forward, you can't help but feel it's holding back, ultimately much more divided than, say, Tom Waits's "Long Way Home". Listening to Hayden's lazy Ontario drawl, however, it's easy to understand why the girl would feel attached in the first place. [buy]

The bad side to Hayden is that since his comeback explosion a couple of years ago, I get the feeling he's coasting. Live, he's gone smug and lacklustre, carelessly tossing out songs, fully aware that the audience will lap it up regardless of effort. There are bits of Elk Lake Serenade where he's spinning his wheels, not putting the work into finishing the song. Hayden's written some excellent tracks that consist basically of a chorus: he sets a half-song spinning, gently reflecting light, and doesn't fill in the verses or give it an arc. But while this can sometimes succeed, other times it feels like a lazy habit or a lack of craft; the trick can wear, especially when overused. So while Greg Macpherson does astonishing things with his voice, his instrument, his words, Hayden's gone sloppy, resting too much on his cute-indie-boy laurels. Pull yourself together, dude: work a touch harder. I beg.

Happy Wednesday to all.

First of all, John sent me a totally transcendent track by Washington Phillips, called "Lift Him Up That's All." It's a jumbly, rickety piano and Phillips' bright-moon voice, neither preacher nor minstrel, a hallelujah to the deep, good things that are there if we want them. Scratchy gospel that's humble enough for we jewish nonbelievers to get behind. (I'd share it with you, only he may well be planning the same!)

I also managed to hear the whole of Joanna Newsom's loved-and-maligned record. Me, I think it's terrific - that strange woman with her scritchy voice and sour words. Though I don't know if anything ever beats the yawling open line of "Inflammatory Writ," it's an album of strident and peculiar tunes. Devendra Banhart + Dan Bejar, but a girl. With harp, xylophone, guitar, harpsichord, and other things. I'd post bits, but most of the album's been seen on one blog or another, so go get it yerself!

Camera Obscura - "Keep it Clean". June 12th, Camera Obscura plays in a Glasgow garden with Belle & Sebastian, Trash Can Sinatras, and others. Which is apt, and should give you a fair idea of who and what they are. Indeed, they're Scottish and twee, Traceyanne Campbell's soft vocals over light-and-jangly guitars, organ, the occasional trumpet. Whereas at first they seem like throwaway imitators, however, Underachievers Please Try Harder makes it clear that they have their own bright talent: it's a better album than Belle & Sebastian have made in years. These are relaxed, fine songs, and "Keep It Clean" is no exception. The vibe slowly accelerates, Campbell's earnesty grows, the organ plays in the grass. "It's clear / you don't want me here." This is a break-up under blue skies, when things are stark - clear as broken glass. Circling clouds in the shape of new lovers. [buy]

The Killers - "Indie Rock and Roll". I first heard these Las Vegas kids on Music for Robots, and now here's their LP, Hot Fuss. It's many minutes of synth-laden indie rock, like The Strokes-Interpol-Jet-etc and with a definite Julian Casablancas influence on vocals. Completely great, though - like on the magical Is This It?, the band simply nails the hooks, the bridges, the little things that make fantastic things from simple tools.

And "Indie Rock and Roll" is something else. Not only is it an unabashed anthem for and of indie rock, not only is it conscious of itself and yet still sincere, but it's also - and most importantly, - totally awesome.

This'll even be enjoyed by those pop-listeners who (like me) enjoyed "All the Things She Said" or "Sk8er Boi". Drums stomp while guitar and piano ticktock like clockwork, electric guitars surge and soar and wave flags, pedals are pressed, "oohs" fly out of the wings, the pyrotechnics go off. Above it all, Brandon Flowers shouts his heart out, laying out the sorry facts and yet celebrating them all the same:

all the boys
electric girls with worn-out toys
making up, breaking up
oh what do you care?
I take my twist with a shout
a coffee shop with a cause
then I'll freak you out
no sex, no drugs, no life, no love
oh don't be shy, let's cause a scene

And the song's so excellent, so sumptuous and rocking and indulgent, that we're going to hear it at the parties where we should, in those staggering early-morning moments as the pint-glasses empty, as thick-framed-glasses come off and faces are rubbed. As everyone gets back on the wet floor and tries to figure out how to dance. [buy]

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Check Justin's wonderfully autobiographical defence of Marilyn Manson, and then scroll down to Say Hi To Your Mom's "Let's Talk About Spaceships", which is a tumbling late-90s rock song with lyrics that are serious and whimsical, like something that Ballboy might do, but American and tending slightly toward emo. Good.

Stereogum's got a great Decemberists b-side, but then stick around and help the man out with bandwidth. He deserves to stay online, for sure.

Marx vs the Monorail is a terrific new mp3blog with a terrifically European bent. Hooray.

ps: i am so fucking excited.

Listened to the quite-good Nick Drake Special on BBC2, today. For the first few minutes I was reeling with cognitive dissonance (it's narrated by Brad "huge admirer of [Nick Drake] records" Pitt), but eventually settled in to enjoy the things that people other than Brad had to say. There was something very sad about the affection that lingered in the voices of Nick's (former) friends and colleagues. Definitely a better piece than 1999's A Skin Too Few doc.

At the end of the show, I resolved to post Norah Jones's "Day is Done" cover to the blog. When I went and listened to it properly, however, I changed my mind. Much too smooth, by the end; much too funky. In short - not noteworthy. For those of you who are still interested, however, seek out guitarist Charlie Hunter's 2001 record, Songs From the Analog Playground.

Instead of Norah-doing-Nick, then, here's Tom-that-Norah-did; a terrific track from the soundtrack to Big Bad Love, covered by Norah on Feels Like Home.

Tom Waits - "Long Way Home". This is neither Tom Waits at his most boisterous nor Tom at his most loony-romantic - instead, he treads the middle ground of Townes Van Zandt or Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen. A bass rocks back and forth, footsteps shuffle, and when the trumpet joins in it's as if the first fingers of orange light are breaking up the shadows. Tom's not desperate, or apathetic, he's just quietly determined - he'll not stop, he'll not stumble, he'll make it there eventually. [buy]

Broken Family Band - "The Perfect Gentleman". This Cambridge alt.country band fakes an American twang and swaggers like a mopey English cowboy. The song's methodical movements break down at the end in an appealingly noisy way - an organ warbles, darts and loops with a Grandaddy/Radiohead confidence. I don't quite know what the song's trying to say, but whatever it is, it sails unerringly through its choppy brown waters. (From the King Will Build a Disco mini-album. Thanks, Kieran!) [buy]

A Toronto woman has gone missing after attending a Billy Corgan show in Chicago. If you think you might possibly be able to help, please drop by Billy's blog for a photo, as well as the contact info for police, should you have any information. Let's hope she gets home safe. [via aaron]

Five Dollar Soul - "Wait For Me". Lurching indie rock that hunts for a cresting chorus amid dead-end guitars and a stark, taunting melody. It feels like a stunted melancholy, a sadness, anger or jubilance that's not yet free to blossom: "Wait. Please wait." Very remniscent of some of Idaho's work, the murky feedback sound and then a clear main line that rises out. Radiohead would throw in ninety seconds of dripdroppy electronics, but Five Dollar Soul don't bother; they let things slowly play through, never making it out, bumping into walls with a desperate man's blindness.

Tim Easton - "Carry Me". An alt.country ballad with soft hands. Fingerpicking, mellotron, snaps and backwards-flowing guitars blend like the Chemical Brothers' "Where Do I Begin," only this time there's regret and ache in the place of Beth Orton's bright-eyed potential. Easton's got a terrific voice, Ryan Adams' with the edges sanded off; gravel, smoothness, and a poet's care with words. A bass joins the weave, drums join in, and things slowly lift. It's Jay Bennett (formerly of Wilco) on backup guitars and mellotron, and we hear his penchant for pop experimentalism (closer to Revolver, of course, than Yankee Hotel Foxtrot). It's a beautiful song, gently churning. From 2001's The Truth About Us. [buy]

Into the Groove is a fantastic new pop mp3blog, finding excellent, underappreciated tunes. I'm really happy to see it around - the songs are great, and it's a wonderful counterpoint to some of the rest of our indie-centric habits.

Grab the Shout Out Louds track at Listen Closer. It's 90s alt.rock with a scratchy and wry Eef Barzelay voice, pop guitars that play with your expectations, scrambling toward a chorus and then falling back into weird surf flourishes. The organ hums like that friend who always has the best ideas.

New to me: Mark's Classical Gasp is a mp3blog that uses ogg vorbis instead of mp3, and boasts the radio-style format. Digging the righttogether blend of old and new. (Rickie Lee Jones! Franz Ferdinand! Cornelius b-side!)

Obligatory gmail swap update: USA Today, NPR, Baltimore Sun, MPR, Techweb, iMedia, #5 on Daypop. Almost 100,000 unique visitors in its first week. (I'm looking for a php hacker to help me out with something. Please get in touch!)

The Trouble With Sweeney - "Evelyn Rochman". There's an Ottawa band called As The Poets Affirm. Isn't than an awful name? If it was emo satire, it would be genius. But it's not, so it isn't. "The Trouble With Sweeney" reminds me of that. One wonders what the band was thinking:

"How about we name it Sweeney?"
"That's your name, dude."
"Yeah, but it's kinda cool. Kooky, you know, but not too kooky."
"Like us."
"Exactly."
(the serious one) "I don't like it."
"What? Why not! What's the trouble with 'Sweeney'?"
(chortle) "Dude - let's call the band that!"
(all, save serious one, in unison) "YEAH!"

David Byrne - "Glass, Concrete and Stone". Because a lot of people (like me) might have written Byrne off a while ago, here's the stunning opening number from his new album. It's pretty wonderful, quick-footed and melodic, with toothsome jumbles of lyrics and a terrific arrangement. Byrne plays capably with classical, world and rock instruments, but rather than falling into the rocker-emeritus tendencies of Peter Gabriel, say, the arrangement doesn't sink too far into its own concept; everything's delivered with aplomb. The strings, hand-drums and xylophone (as well as the Magnetic Fields-like "oo-oo-oo-oos" around 3 minutes) seem dedicated to the song's altpop hook, the rising crest of the chorus. [buy]

A great new mostlyfolk blog, kittytext.

The Streets are coming to Montreal (can I persuade myself to pay the $43 bus ticket?), and Wilco's coming to Ottawa (can I persuade myself to pay the $2.50 bus ticket?). Thanks to Aaron and Frank for the heads' ups.

Gmail Swap stuff: articles in the Washington Post and at Wired News. The lunacy continues. (4,301 swaps have been posted since Monday morning.)

The Be Good Tanyas - "The Littlest Birds". The gorgeous, lift-me-up opening tune from the Be Good Tanyas' debut, from the days when Jolie Holland was still a Vancouver-dwelling member. (There's also a solo Jolie version on Catalpa.) This thing scampers and smiles, hopping from rounded stone to rounded stone, tree-leaves fluttering with the darting of small birds. The women play as they sing, the banjo laughs in the back, the drums clap their brush hands and a guitar slides in between the lake-splashes. A free-wheeling delight, a song for the first moments of morning, for slipping into a day that will be rosy and blue and happy and free. These "wandering blues" are tricky things - wonderful, even if the sunset's eventually going to come (later! later!). "I love you so dearly / I love you so fearlessly. / ... / I don't want to leave you / I love you through and through." A violin scampers in at the end, for a little twirling dance. [buy]

The Waifs - "Up All Night". Another Australian track from Laura, albeit in a different vein than Cat Empire's slinking pop. The Waifs are a three-piece from Melbourne, with sisters Donna and Vikki who handle most of the vocals. Here, however, it's Josh Cunningham doing a slow, gravelly tune - like M Ward on a long and dusty trail. A guitar twangs remorsefully, brushed drums drag. This song is for a long night, a small fire, a full belly, and eyes that flicker with nostalgia. [buy]

In the mail today, I received samples of Heavy.com's Sumosonic sampler series. As Matthew said, these are some really fine comps - tracks by Andre 3000, The Streets, Von Bondies, Telefon Tel Aviv, Dntel, the Secret Machines, Dangermouse and Jemini, etc etc. More than a few things I've heard via other mp3blogs, too - and at least one track (El-P and Cage's "Oxycontin Pt. 2", off Def Jux III) that I had planned to post here. In short, they're well worth the USD$3.33 postage to bring them to your door - and I say that honestly, not as a corporate shill, - but probably not whatever rip-off premium they'll ask to ship them to Canada. Thanks to Matt @ heavy for the hook-up (and I hope yr cat is doing ok).

Gmail Swap's been metafiltered, kottke'ed, slashdotted, sensible erectioned, and if the referrers are any indication, will be farked imminently. Spoke to the washinton post today. As for the impact on Gramophone - extremely negligible. All of 72 people have hopped from gmail swap to here, (keep in mind that g.s. is receiving more than 10,000 unique hits a day). And I'm kinda glad. We don't need the hordes elbowing in. (PS: Blogger is once again offering Gmail invites. So if you [unlike me] are an "active" blogger, go and nab one)

Congratulations to Mystical Beast, Tofu Hut and Largehearted Boy for winning the Morning News' Awards for Online Excellence (Music Blogs).

Two tracks today from Moshi Moshi Records, a British label doing good things with folktronics and indie rock, and, um, other stuff.

Matt Harding - "What I Meant to Say". Starts as a lukewarm, echoing folk thing, like a Reindeer Section b-side, but then that ends as soon as it started, reemerging with clicks, careful picking, and warm baths of sound. "Cause I'll be the one who's here for you," Harding repeats, over and over. It's a mantra that doesn't need much fuel, it seems - there's enough here, in these little sounds, to push it forward, to make the assertion true. Glimmers of Four Tet, shades of Sam Beam, and the shiny black eyes of a longing lover. From Committment. [buy]

Pedro vs Kathryn Williams - "Demons in Cases". Kathryn Williams is one of my very favourite English singers - just as soon as I get my hands on her new covers record (Pavement! Nirvana!), there will be a whole Said the Gramophone post devoted to her restrained, cloudy delivery. In the mean time, though, here's a track from her collaboration with the DJ James Rutledge,. Her words break apart, tumbling over cliffs and into pink-fiery pits. Squelches bump up against Books-like string-samples, an electro vibe drifting through like neon gas. Pedro's part of Twisted Nerve-signed DOT (whom I've never heard); the production's by Joe Robinson (Badly Drawn Boy/Lone Pigeon), and you can hear a little of that pre-Bewilderbeast play. (Note: Robinson didnt produce anything pre-Bewilderbeast. But still.) Pretty, diving, and thick as chocolate cake. Ends a little prematurely, though. [buy]

People should definitely go out and grab Mase's new track, "Welcome Back." It's jovial, abashed, totally likable. In other words - good.

RIP, Elvin Jones! And for those who don't know his work enough - like me - start (or resume) your listening with some tracks at The Suburbs Are Killing Us. I'll be listening to A Love Supreme a lot, tomorrow.

gmail swap update: I spoke today with reporters from Wired News and the Ottawa Citizen. The Canadian Press story made the front page of Google News. It's mad!