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where hearts are entertained in june
by Sean

Snow Patrol - "Run". Apparently, astonishingly, this piece of melancholy pop is #5 on the UK Charts (William Bloody Swygart has written a hundred interesting words on the subject). The first thing I hear whenever I listen to Snow Patrol is Gary Lightbody's voice - that is, I hear the Reindeer Section. Scotland's superband has released two albums I liked very, very much, and although Lightbody sang most of the songs on those rainyglad records, he and his Snow Patrol pals always seemed the tag-alongs. "The Reindeer Section, featuring members of Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai, Idlewild, Teenage Fanclub, as well as Snow Patrol" -- which is the odd one out? It wasn't helped by the sheer mediocrity of the Snow Patrol albums I had heard. Still, here's "Run," and it's a fantastic, stalwart, mopey little number, perfect for staggering down the street in the rain. That ever-repeating guitarline, capped with strings and ringing Coldplay riffs. Plus: reassuring, romantic lyrics. This kind of thing inevitably, predictably, pushes all of my buttons. Hooray!

Christopher O'Riley - "Fake Plastic Trees". This is taken from O'Riley's True Love Waits. There's nothing remarkable about the idea of a classical pianist (or string section, or orchestra) covering the works of Radiohead - I mean, such things are cliches at this point. And yet O'Riley surprises because of the sheer investment he's put into this. These aren't just covers - they're rearrangements, interpretations... that is, covers in the best sense. Case in point is his version of "Fake Plastic Trees," which is in fact better than Radiohead's original. Granted, that's not saying much - "Fake Plastic Trees" was pretty, sincere, but that's about it. Still, O'Riley's managed to transform it into something truly moving, sad and deep and violent, like the sudden onset of tears. He takes his time, the melody twinkles and scatters, but whenever it reappears - especially loud, at around 3:00, - it's like the flash of light on eyes, of a sun going nova. Or something. I don't know.

12:13 PM on Feb 3, 2004.
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Moody Leftovers
by Sean

Some leftovers from Moody Week - for dustin who wanted to hear the Dears, and for the masses who don't know the Hip. [updated 5:58pm]

The Tragically Hip - "Nautical Disaster". Canada's biggest rock band, and, believe it or not, pretty darn great. This song rises from "rockin'" to wholly majestic when you pay attention to the lyrics. The Hip don't just crown the Canadian rock canon - in terms of 1990ish to 2000, they are the canon. They play rock music that ranges from the heavy and guitar-strewn ("100th Meridian," "Grace, Too," etc.) to the woodsy and acoustic ("Ahead by a Century," "Bobcaygeon"). The lyric play is pretty wonderful - like a more down-to-earth (or, er, Canadian) R.E.M. - and although their recent releases have felt a bit tired, the band continues to innovate like crazy. Day for Night, Road Apples, Trouble at the Henhouse and Phantom Power are all amazing, vital rock'n'roll records. The Hip's inability to break into the States or the UK remains frequent fodder for late-night bar conversations, and Globe-and-Mail columnists. (NB: The Tragically Hip's typical fans are notorious for being clod-brains.)

The Dears - "Hollywood". Taken from the Dears' debut, End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story, it is best described by turning to the title of the band's 2001 EP, Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique. It's pretty much Blur crossed with Serge Gainsbourg, glorious in the way it crests a cabaret beat and swirls towards a martini-laced, organ-fuelled, hazy psych climax. In the last couple of years, the Dears have gotten noticeably more aggressive - live, they are deafening - and 2003's very good No Cities Left has drifted away from the music hall and towards the avant-rock of OK Computer. (Track down "We Can Have It" for a worthy sample.)

Also worthy of attention:

Those of you who haven't yet heard Toronto's The Blankket do his schizoid neaderthal version of "Hey Ya!" should download the mp3 here. Unfortunately, the EP is already sold out (I checked); While Dave of The Diskettes managed to nab a copy, I was left empty-handed. Still, tantalized by the sample on that page, I'm going to order the record by Les Mouches.

One of Matthew's tracks for today at Fluxblog is absolutely worthy of attention: the DFA Remix of "Sun Plus," by J.O.Y. It's silly and complicated-simple, it's festive but vicious, it makes me want to dance in a wiggly Winnie the Pooh way. It's fine.

nb: i've changed the Hip lyrics link to something less nefarious (sorry, andrew!).

1:24 AM on Feb 2, 2004.
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brainsick, tick, tick
by Sean

Since I've basically been listening to "Float On" all day (with the exception of the couple hours I spared for Dan's Arcade Fire/Wolf Parade bootleg, and Jordan's Flying Saucer Attack album [why vocals!? why!?]), I didn't have time to do very much real thinking on "moody hip-hop." Although I originally planned to pick out something like Notorious BIG's "Suicide," here's a track I like a lil more.

MF Grimm - "Tick, Tick" [f. MF Doom]. Reluctant, pissed off, belligerent, with fine rhymes and brilliant, brilliant, fast-and-slow tempo shifts. It's jazzy and dark, with both a high-concept mentalist form and a rough, from-the-gut delivery. When it come to currency, love is nonexistent / Foes magnified, Friends become so distanced. (from MF Doom's Operation Doomsday.)

7:07 PM on Jan 30, 2004.
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holy crap! Modest mouse: "float on"
by Sean

Forget the day-by-day schedule, I just heard this track and can't keep it to myself -- Modest Mouse's "Float On." The new single from their upcoming album, and the best thing they've ever done, it seems to me.

Modest Mouse - "Float On".

The guitars and drums jangle and flip in the background, happy to float on, with Isaac Brock squawking and rhyming in the front. It's like an amazing bird party that humans are never invited to, where there are strange bird drinks and strange bird rock'n'roll dances. And a river. And love. But you MUST TURN IT UP LOUD SO THE DRUMS AND BASS MAKE YOU CRAZY. holymoly! dan!!

2:07 PM on Jan 29, 2004.
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bedhead
by Sean

So by popular request, day, uh, four of Moody Week features the one and only Kadane brothers, Matt and Bubba. Bedhead often get that "slowcore" tag, but really they just sound like indie rock to me, neighbourly and spirited - but yeah, I suppose a little down on themselves.

The group's coolest track is something they did with/via Macha, on the Bedhead Loved Macha EP. Namely, "Believe," a lethargic-and-lonely cover of Cher's 90s dance hit, replete with clumsily-pushed buttons on a telephone, and vocoder. It's probably the most widely-circulated thing that the band's ever done, though - I saw it pretty recently at Chromewaves, for instance - so if you're curious, you're just going to have to track it down yourself.

Because me, I want to push Bedhead's LPs: this stuff's very, very good. The AMG description of the group's "tones" seems pretty otm: "Somber, Plaintive, Autumnal, Laid-Back/Mellow, Hypnotic, Earnest, Melancholy." Although I'd spell "somber" "sombre."

Bedhead - "The Unpredictable Landlord". From the group's 1994 debut, What Fun Life Was, this is as upbeat as the band ever gets. The sound is typical, though - intercrossing guitar sounds, drums that tumble away to some sort of resolution, a vocalist (Matt Kadane) that hides inside the blur of guitar tones. WFLW is probably the most alive of the band's albums - the most spirited and colourful - but everything else they did as Bedhead is worthwhile, too. Bedheaded and Transaction de Novo are simply heavier on their feet, greyer, thicker with a sort of grief. (Unfortunately, the Kadane's post-Bedhead project, The New Year, was completely boring.)

Bedhead - "The Rest of the Day". My alltime fave Bedhead track, from Bedheaded. You can hear what I mean about the group's lassitude, I think - the way this song sort of trudges up a hill, leaves falling. When it reaches the top, though - as the repeated guitar strains peak - it soars with drums pounding, a bell/xylophone thing ringing, guitars beating like wings.

There are a number of Bedhead bootlegs out there, worth seeking out. There's a live show in Vermont, in particular, that sounds as good as anything on Transaction de Novo. I really, really wish I had had the chance to see them live.

Tomorrow: moody hip-hop. (I think.)

1:34 PM on Jan 29, 2004.
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check your mirrors
by Sean

It's warmer in Montreal this afternoon, but I will not let my wintry, frostbitten spirit be thawed: Moody Week continues.

Today, we listen to Logh, a Swedish band that has recorded two albums of glacial rock music, falling somewhere between the desolation of Low and the warmth/melody of American Analog Set. Further touchstones, I guess, are Kepler and Jimmy Eat World circa Clarity. Anyway, while last year's The Raging Sun was a bit of a disappointment, the group's debut, Every Time a Bell Rings an Angel Gets His Wings is a fine, half-frozen thing, and these tracks have both been plucked from it.

Logh - "In Cold Blood". Like ice-floats on a river, this is a slow and ruminating song; tones of ennui, loss and love swirl around slurs of guitar, murmurs of voice. And then the whole last minute is a wonderful, rounded organ drone. A camera slowly dollying back, panning away.

Logh - "Note on the Bathroom Mirror". Here we've got verses you can bob your head to, a chorus with its own opaque-but-catchy phrases. Logh don't let themselves get too much caught up in the fun of a rock song, but when the bass (or whatever it is) pipes up at 2:13, there's a whole lot to like: it's like a highspeed ride down a grey-and-snowcaked highway, when the scattered green trees suddenly break into view.

Moody Week's got a few days left, yet, and there's a whole lot of stuff I'm considering throwing up. Feel free to vote on which of the following bands you'd most like to see showcased: Kepler, The Dears, the Tragically Hip, 'moody hip-hop', Harvey Danger, Bedhead...

2:35 PM on Jan 28, 2004.
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insects like a neon choir
by Sean

So apparently fluxblog, said the gramophone and ILM are shortcuts to becoming a music insider. I appreciate the sentiment, Hugh, I really do. And I wish it were true. Matthew may have his ear to the ground, but as for my listening habits, they're reviled by hipsters ("What, you like Jay-Z!?") and post-hipsters ("What, you like Coldplay?!") alike. Also, it seems my exuberant prose makes me a bit of a circus freak. Still, enjoy!

I made a naive post on ILM looking for some drone recommendations, and my needs were returned a hundredfold. Now I just need to find an afternoon to explore Aquarius Records, AMG, and, uh, CD Esoterik. Does anyone here have thorough drone recommendations? What albums make your body thrum like a tuning fork?

Right, so -- Moody Week continues! This time, with Manchester mopers Elbow. Elbow's a terrific band, absolutely unknown on this side of the Atlantic. Their greatness stems mostly from Guy Garvey's vocals, on-key and earnest, and Richard Jupp's exciting, unexpected drums. Furthermore, they make grand use of electric guitars, organs and synths, samples, vocal harmonies, and indeed, piano. When I saw them open for Goldfrapp a couple of years ago, they blew my hat off: they rose louder, fiercer than anything on their record.

I considered presenting a couple of b-sides, or one of the more interesting tracks from Elbow's debut ("Newborn," esp.), but ultimately I decided I'd rather share some of the highlights from their excellent 2003 LP, Cast of Thousands. (Cast of Thousands was #13 on my Best of 2003, btw.) Rest assured that the band's back-catalogue is also worthy of exploration, should these cuts strike your fancy.

Elbow - "Grace Under Pressure". The big epic ra-ra-ra from Cast of Thousands, this slow-starting celebration boasts the Glastonbury audience on backup vocals, and a glorious, high-energy battery of drums. It's really just the repetition of a single vocal theme, a reassuring mantra, trite but only if you don't feel like giving Elbow the credit.

Elbow - "Switching Off". A different sort of track, and probably more representative of Elbow's typical tone. Dark blooms of organ flower behind Garvey's voice, and his lyrics are something extraordinary. It's pre- and post-breakup at once, resigned and devastatingly nostalgic. Beautiful.

1:08 PM on Jan 27, 2004.
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