Tonight I had the pleasure of seeing what will now go down as my second favorite concert ever (nothing has yet to top seeing Rush at Nissan Pavilion). Not only were The Decemberists even better live than I had expected, but I discovered a new artist to immediately add to my ever-expanding collection, Andrew Bird.
The concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia opened with a guy I was unfamiliar with, Robyn Hitchcock. Honestly...although he's apparently been around since the 70s, I wasn't too thrilled with him. He basically sounded like if John Lennon decided to start a punk band whose lyrics bordered on the surreal. All I remember about his music at this point was angular guitar noises. His vocals were not fantastic. At one point, Colin Meloy came out to provide some tambourine and back up vocals. The two of them were not in harmony at all. However, I consider this opening performance a minor speedbump at best. What came next more than made up for the eccentricities of an old, quirky British man.
I had never heard Andrew Bird before tonight. He was amazing. If I had to describe him, I would say imagine Thom Yorke if he was a top-notch whistler and a classically-trained violin player. His music reminded me at times of The Verve, but overall his style is very distinctive and unique. He combines jazz and classical music with those kind of free-flowing, cascading sonic backdrops typical of post-rock bands like Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky. It's definitely the type of music I would love to just kick back and relax to, the kind of music that passes over you and carries you with it.
But, of course, the main attraction was what made this concert such an amazing experience. This was my first time seeing The Decemberists live and I wasn't sure if their extremely literate, folksy, and downright idiosyncratic brand of indie rock would translate as well on stage. Well, it did...more than I could have predicted. They kicked prodigious amounts of ass. What I didn't know before was that frontman Colin Meloy, in addition to being the singer and songwriter, really pulls his weight as a guitar player as well. They played The Hazards of Love in its entirety, without any break between songs as it was meant to be played. If you read my review of the album, you know I am a huge fan of it. Every member of the band was working overtime to fully realize the music and the narrative behind it. I have to say, after seeing it performed live, somehow the story behind The Hazards of Love actually makes some semblance of sense. Maybe it's because I was actually paying closer attention to it.
The vocal performances of Colin Meloy, Becky Stark, and especially Shara Worden were awesome. Shara Worden as The Queen was the highlight of the concert for me. Every time she came to the front, her performance was full of such power and intensity that I was literally on the edge of my seat. She would flail her arms, wave her hands in the air, and jump around the stage as her body writhed and squirmed like a serpent. I don't know if I'd say she really conveyed the image of an evil queen, but all the same she was fun to watch. Becky Stark did a great job too, but her chirpier, higher-pitched voice (still quite lovely) combined with the fact that she was swaying back in forth in a wedding dress while decked out with an excessive amount of make-up made her considerably less endearing to me than Shara Worden. Seriously, I think I might have a crush on Worden.
After the conclusion of The Hazards of Love, the band left and then returned minutes later to play what was basically a second concert consisting of some of their more well-known hits. Colin Meloy interrupted "A Cautionary Song" to narrate one of the strangest adaptations of Hamlet I have ever seen, portrayed by the other members of the band acting out in the middle of the audience on a riser. We did get to see Chris Funk and John Moen have a sloppy makeout, so bonus, I guess. A few songs later, in a completely unexpected and amazingly ballsy move, Shara Worden and Becky Stark came back out decked in snazzy white outfits to perform "Crazy On You" by Heart. Before that, Colin Meloy performed what he described as "the worst song he'd ever written" entitled "Dracula's Daughter" only to seque into one of their biggest singles, "O Valencia!" Finally, he got the crowd singing aloud in a most heartfelt way to the closing song, "Sons and Daughters."
I don't regret one penny of the money I spent to see this concert. It was emotional, triumphant, and downright fun. This cemented The Decemberists as one of my favorite bands. And now, I have to go out and acquire Andrew Bird's albums as soon as possible.
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Album Review: The Hazards of Love by The Decemberists
I'd like to try my hand at music reviewing, so I think I'll start with an album I acquired recently: the newest release from one of my favorite not-quite-so-indie-anymore bands The Decemberists. The Hazards of Love may be their most ambitious album yet. Similar to their last album, The Crane Wife, The Decemberists have a story to tell on this one - albeit one far more convoluted. To quote the Rolling Stones review, it's "a tale of a maiden knocked up by a shape–shifting beast who may be her future husband. There's also a psychotic queen and three revenge–seeking ghost kids." The Hazards of Love is actually the name of an EP from 1966 by English folk-singer Anniee Briggs. Frontman Colin Meloy wanted to use the title as the name of a song, which developed into a 17-song suite about shapeshifters, cunning rakes, and treacherous fairies. All the songs flow together, starting with the gradual buildup of "Prelude" which seques directly into "The Hazards of Love 1", which sets up the rest of the album with a lush, somewhat melodramatic ballad typical of The Decemberists.
The intensity continues to build as this song moves into "A Bower Scene", which features a motif that reminds me of the guitar riff in the song "Transatlanticism" by Death Cab for Cutie, which gets swallowed up by an oppressive wall of distortion several times in the song.
The next track, "Won't Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga)" opens with a nice bluesy riff before introducing the first of several guest vocalists who contribute to this album. Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond provides the voice of Margaret with her lilting, ethereal vocals. She performs a duet with Meloy on "Isn't It a Lovely Night?"
To me, the stand-out song on this album is "The Wanting Comes In Waves/Repaid". After a few minutes of Colin Meloy accompanied on mandolin, the gloves come off and a simplistic yet badass guitar riff introduces the Queen. The Queen is voiced by Shara Worden of My Brightest Diamond. Worden might be my new favorite female singer. She has a commanding, powerful voice which she utilises as the spiteful Queen to full effect. I checked out some of her songs with her band and they are quite good. Check out her cover of the song "Feeling Good" as well.
This album is overall more bombastic and dynamic than their previous efforts. The Decemberists seem to have adopted a greater desire to rock the fuck out. More guitars, more distortion, more everything. "The Queen's Rebuke/The Crossing" is practically coated in sludge, the screeching, frantic wah-wah solo is blistering and fierce, and Shara Worden is downright intimidating. There's even an organ solo.
After this, the album begins to draw towards its conclusion, but not before a reprise of the theme from "The Wanting Comes in Waves" and a choir of ghostly children, something that might be out of place elsewhere but not on a Decemberists album. After the riffage that gets unleashed in the middle of the album, the end descends back to earth with a more pensive, melancholy closer featuring some nice pedal steel guitar. In general, the flow of the album is similar to that of "The Tain", just vastly expanded.
In summary, The Hazards of Love is not likely to bring any new fans into the fold. Those who already wrote The Decemberists off as pretentious or just plain nerdy are not about to be proved wrong here. However, if you're already a fan, you'll find this album highly rewarding. It's everything you already expect from the band - highly literate lyrics, colorful instrumentation, and a general affection for all things theatrical - plus more metal sensibilities and some great guest vocalists. Don't worry about following the plot, I didn't even try.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Obligatory Post about Music
It turns out the library is open on Easter. As you might expect, the place is even more empty than it normally is on a Sunday afternoon. Empty except for me, that is. And so, as promised in my last post, I shall explain why I have excellent taste in music.
Somewhere between the beginning and the end of high school I became very passionate about music. My collection expanded and so did my preferences. I formed a great many opinions on the subject and have become something of a snob when it comes to analyzing the musical interests of others. In particular, I am fascinated by the trends of so-called "popular music." I use that term somewhat disdainfully not because I inherently resent pop music, but because in today's society there really isn't a genre that has a dominant stranglehold on the industry - the same holds true for other aspects of popular culture like tv, movies, and books. I will proceed on that note.
Actually, before I make any more detailed analysis, let me start by saying that there is one group of people that annoy me more than those with bad taste in music, and that is people with no taste in music whatsoever. These might be people who say they don't really listen to music, but that's kind of a rare thing to find. What I am referring to here are the people who say they like "everything." If what I am about to say here offends anyone, well...I don't really care. There are a lot of people who say this, and it really bugs me. For one thing, you don't really listen to "everything" - you listen to what is popular or trendy. Do you listen to acid jazz? Do you listen to experimental alternative polka? Do you listen to the folk dances of the indigenous Maori tribes? No? Then you don't listen to everything. And neither do I. It would be virtually impossible to digest every single form of music there is in the world. But more importantly, when you form an opinion on something, you evolve from just being a consumer to being a participant. You have an influence simply by saying "this is good and this is bad and here's why." When you complacently listen to music without forming any sort of reaction to it, you contribute absolutely nothing. Criticism is what drives art and keeps it from stagnating.
So, with that out of the way, on to my personal opinions about music.
In general, I would identify three major categories into which music can be placed: Good music, Bad music, and Acceptable music. You should note that none of these categories imply a specific genre. Every genre of music has its share of good and bad. Some just have a lot more bad than good. For example, Country music. I'm sure there are good country songs, I just haven't heard any. To be honest, country music down right offends me. I'd be hard-pressed to think of another genre of music so seemingly devoid of innovation, variety, or creativity. Country singers just scream "corporate lackey" to me - their very image is a brand. It's marketed directly to people who just want to be told what to listen to without having to think about it. It embraces the lowest common denominator by churning out song after song about the same themes, with the same sound, sung by the same voice. Every other genre attemps to change and evolve, but country music goes absolutely nowhere.
Since I'm already ranting here, I might as well explain what constitutes Bad music. Obviously, I think country music is Bad. Bad music does nothing to innovate. Bad music makes no attempt to challenge the listener. Bad music makes no effort to write lyrics that are decent or even interesting. Bad music promotes the image of the artists more than the actual music itself. It saddens me image has become so tied up with pop music. I don't care if an artist is ugly as sin and can barely dress himself, if he makes great music than he deserves fame and money far more than someone who distracts his audiences from how terrible his music is by decking himself out in gold chains and pouring Cristal on a half-naked woman.
Bad music is also any music that attemps to capitalize on a particular trend or time period. Music that imitates what is popular at the moment does not age well. As a rule of thumb, if a song goes from being popular to practically unlistenable in the span of only a few years, it's probably not that good a song. By this logic, I would say that most of the music of the 80s is Bad. The bands of the 80s were all about image, they all copied each other, and they have not aged well at all. Also, I tend to look down on artists who emulate icons to the point where it's impossible to identify them by anything unique. For a very specific example, look at the influence of Peter Gabriel. Peter Gabriel has such a distinctive voice and persona that he has been widely imitated in the progressive rock world. The bands Arena, IQ, and Marillion all have lead singers who attempt to sing exactly like him. Marillion is the biggest offender - their singer, the inexplicably named Fish, is so similar it's scary. Here are two videos for comparison:
Genesis - The Musical Box
Marillion - Garden Party
You'll notice that not only does Fish sound like Gabriel, but he also performs like him - notice the stage makeup, the theatricality, and even the little hand motions he makes when he sings. This fact is even more noticeable considering that Fish talks with an incredibly thick Scottish accent. To be fair, "Garden Party" is a pretty good song in its own right, but "The Musical Box" is easily the better of the two. I guess it's a bit ironic that I showed videos of songs that I like in the section about Bad music, but whatever. Alright, so here's an example of what I consider to be a bad song.
Kid Rock - All Summer Long
Here's another:
Steve Miller Band - Take the Money and Run
(That one might earn me some hate. I don't care; I fucking hate Steve Miller Band. Especially "The Joker." His lyrics and his singing are just so obnoxious.)
In the middle, we have Acceptable music. Acceptable music is nice to listen to, but there's nothing terribly exciting about it. A lot of popular music falls into this category as well. There's nothing wrong with Acceptable music. It's basically music that anyone can enjoy. For example, the Beatles would be the epitome of this. I don't know anyone who outright hates The Beatles, but I also can't think of anyone I know who says The Beatles are their favorite band. Beatles songs are pleasing to listen to, but I don't get enthusiastic about them. It's more like, "Nice, The Beatles" rather than "FUCK YES! The Beatles!!!" There really isn't a whole lot I can say about this category. It's pretty good, but not extraordinary. I don't need to share any examples for this one.
So at this point, I've pretty much clarified what makes Good music by detailing what it's not, but I'll go ahead and spell it out. Normally, the thing that differentiates Good music from Bad music is talent. Talented musicians generally make better music than ones without talent. This isn't always the case however: Yngwie Malmsteen is an incredibly skilled guitar player, but his music sucks. It's overblown and self-indulgent, a problem that sometimes afflicts musicians who just might be too talented for their own good.
Good music, truly good music, is music that challenges the listener. What do I mean by "challenges?" A really challenging and interesting song may take several listens before you notice everything that it has to offer. It may be music that you don't initially like at first but then grow to appreciate how amazing it is. Genesis was like that for me. Basically, progressive rock represents Good music to me. I'll save the explanation of what progressive rock is for another post, but basically Yes, Genesis, Emerson Lake & Palmer, King Crimson...those are the core bands. Rush to some extent as well. Those are probably my favorite bands right there. The things that separate these bands from less awesome ones are: talent, complexity of the music, and lyrics. While I definitely thing music is far more important than lyrics, truly great lyrics bring an already good song to the next level, while terrible lyrics are distracting even in a song that would otherwise be good. King Crimson's early songs have some of the most beautiful and poetic lyrics I can think of. Here is a perfect example of the power of lyricist Pete Sinfield's writing (and one of my favorite songs ever):
King Crimson - Epitaph
I talk a lot about progressive rock, but I want to dispel the illusion that I only listen to obscure bands from the 70s. I also love indie rock, funk, jazz fusion, and just hard rock in general. Metal is decent every once in a while and sometimes I want to hear the song "Superstar" by Lupe Fiasco or some Notorious B.I.G. Indie rock is my second favorite genre. Here are two of my favorite songs by indie (well arguably less so now) artists:
The Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
The Decemberists - Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect
Unfortunately, I can't post my absolute favorite song ever, "Close to the Edge" by Yes because it's 20 minutes long. At least, I'm not going to be able to find it on Youtube easily. This song represents all that I hold dear about music: crazy talented musicians, interesting lyrics, extended compositions that explore all sorts of musical ideas, and a general refusal to compromise to the standards of radio and popular music in general. This song also has sentimental and nostalgiac value to me as I can remember being a little kid and hearing my dad play it in his office right next to my room. I would lay on my bed and think "What is this strange and beautiful sound?" It wasn't until years later that I could truly appreciate Yes and many of the other bands my dad introduced me to. So I'll close by posting another really great Yes song and urge all of you to try and obtain a copy of "Close to the Edge" somewhere. And finally, start listening to Good music and criticizing Bad music.
Yes - South Side of the Sky
Somewhere between the beginning and the end of high school I became very passionate about music. My collection expanded and so did my preferences. I formed a great many opinions on the subject and have become something of a snob when it comes to analyzing the musical interests of others. In particular, I am fascinated by the trends of so-called "popular music." I use that term somewhat disdainfully not because I inherently resent pop music, but because in today's society there really isn't a genre that has a dominant stranglehold on the industry - the same holds true for other aspects of popular culture like tv, movies, and books. I will proceed on that note.
Actually, before I make any more detailed analysis, let me start by saying that there is one group of people that annoy me more than those with bad taste in music, and that is people with no taste in music whatsoever. These might be people who say they don't really listen to music, but that's kind of a rare thing to find. What I am referring to here are the people who say they like "everything." If what I am about to say here offends anyone, well...I don't really care. There are a lot of people who say this, and it really bugs me. For one thing, you don't really listen to "everything" - you listen to what is popular or trendy. Do you listen to acid jazz? Do you listen to experimental alternative polka? Do you listen to the folk dances of the indigenous Maori tribes? No? Then you don't listen to everything. And neither do I. It would be virtually impossible to digest every single form of music there is in the world. But more importantly, when you form an opinion on something, you evolve from just being a consumer to being a participant. You have an influence simply by saying "this is good and this is bad and here's why." When you complacently listen to music without forming any sort of reaction to it, you contribute absolutely nothing. Criticism is what drives art and keeps it from stagnating.
So, with that out of the way, on to my personal opinions about music.
In general, I would identify three major categories into which music can be placed: Good music, Bad music, and Acceptable music. You should note that none of these categories imply a specific genre. Every genre of music has its share of good and bad. Some just have a lot more bad than good. For example, Country music. I'm sure there are good country songs, I just haven't heard any. To be honest, country music down right offends me. I'd be hard-pressed to think of another genre of music so seemingly devoid of innovation, variety, or creativity. Country singers just scream "corporate lackey" to me - their very image is a brand. It's marketed directly to people who just want to be told what to listen to without having to think about it. It embraces the lowest common denominator by churning out song after song about the same themes, with the same sound, sung by the same voice. Every other genre attemps to change and evolve, but country music goes absolutely nowhere.
Since I'm already ranting here, I might as well explain what constitutes Bad music. Obviously, I think country music is Bad. Bad music does nothing to innovate. Bad music makes no attempt to challenge the listener. Bad music makes no effort to write lyrics that are decent or even interesting. Bad music promotes the image of the artists more than the actual music itself. It saddens me image has become so tied up with pop music. I don't care if an artist is ugly as sin and can barely dress himself, if he makes great music than he deserves fame and money far more than someone who distracts his audiences from how terrible his music is by decking himself out in gold chains and pouring Cristal on a half-naked woman.
Bad music is also any music that attemps to capitalize on a particular trend or time period. Music that imitates what is popular at the moment does not age well. As a rule of thumb, if a song goes from being popular to practically unlistenable in the span of only a few years, it's probably not that good a song. By this logic, I would say that most of the music of the 80s is Bad. The bands of the 80s were all about image, they all copied each other, and they have not aged well at all. Also, I tend to look down on artists who emulate icons to the point where it's impossible to identify them by anything unique. For a very specific example, look at the influence of Peter Gabriel. Peter Gabriel has such a distinctive voice and persona that he has been widely imitated in the progressive rock world. The bands Arena, IQ, and Marillion all have lead singers who attempt to sing exactly like him. Marillion is the biggest offender - their singer, the inexplicably named Fish, is so similar it's scary. Here are two videos for comparison:
Genesis - The Musical Box
Marillion - Garden Party
You'll notice that not only does Fish sound like Gabriel, but he also performs like him - notice the stage makeup, the theatricality, and even the little hand motions he makes when he sings. This fact is even more noticeable considering that Fish talks with an incredibly thick Scottish accent. To be fair, "Garden Party" is a pretty good song in its own right, but "The Musical Box" is easily the better of the two. I guess it's a bit ironic that I showed videos of songs that I like in the section about Bad music, but whatever. Alright, so here's an example of what I consider to be a bad song.
Kid Rock - All Summer Long
Here's another:
Steve Miller Band - Take the Money and Run
(That one might earn me some hate. I don't care; I fucking hate Steve Miller Band. Especially "The Joker." His lyrics and his singing are just so obnoxious.)
In the middle, we have Acceptable music. Acceptable music is nice to listen to, but there's nothing terribly exciting about it. A lot of popular music falls into this category as well. There's nothing wrong with Acceptable music. It's basically music that anyone can enjoy. For example, the Beatles would be the epitome of this. I don't know anyone who outright hates The Beatles, but I also can't think of anyone I know who says The Beatles are their favorite band. Beatles songs are pleasing to listen to, but I don't get enthusiastic about them. It's more like, "Nice, The Beatles" rather than "FUCK YES! The Beatles!!!" There really isn't a whole lot I can say about this category. It's pretty good, but not extraordinary. I don't need to share any examples for this one.
So at this point, I've pretty much clarified what makes Good music by detailing what it's not, but I'll go ahead and spell it out. Normally, the thing that differentiates Good music from Bad music is talent. Talented musicians generally make better music than ones without talent. This isn't always the case however: Yngwie Malmsteen is an incredibly skilled guitar player, but his music sucks. It's overblown and self-indulgent, a problem that sometimes afflicts musicians who just might be too talented for their own good.
Good music, truly good music, is music that challenges the listener. What do I mean by "challenges?" A really challenging and interesting song may take several listens before you notice everything that it has to offer. It may be music that you don't initially like at first but then grow to appreciate how amazing it is. Genesis was like that for me. Basically, progressive rock represents Good music to me. I'll save the explanation of what progressive rock is for another post, but basically Yes, Genesis, Emerson Lake & Palmer, King Crimson...those are the core bands. Rush to some extent as well. Those are probably my favorite bands right there. The things that separate these bands from less awesome ones are: talent, complexity of the music, and lyrics. While I definitely thing music is far more important than lyrics, truly great lyrics bring an already good song to the next level, while terrible lyrics are distracting even in a song that would otherwise be good. King Crimson's early songs have some of the most beautiful and poetic lyrics I can think of. Here is a perfect example of the power of lyricist Pete Sinfield's writing (and one of my favorite songs ever):
King Crimson - Epitaph
I talk a lot about progressive rock, but I want to dispel the illusion that I only listen to obscure bands from the 70s. I also love indie rock, funk, jazz fusion, and just hard rock in general. Metal is decent every once in a while and sometimes I want to hear the song "Superstar" by Lupe Fiasco or some Notorious B.I.G. Indie rock is my second favorite genre. Here are two of my favorite songs by indie (well arguably less so now) artists:
The Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
The Decemberists - Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect
Unfortunately, I can't post my absolute favorite song ever, "Close to the Edge" by Yes because it's 20 minutes long. At least, I'm not going to be able to find it on Youtube easily. This song represents all that I hold dear about music: crazy talented musicians, interesting lyrics, extended compositions that explore all sorts of musical ideas, and a general refusal to compromise to the standards of radio and popular music in general. This song also has sentimental and nostalgiac value to me as I can remember being a little kid and hearing my dad play it in his office right next to my room. I would lay on my bed and think "What is this strange and beautiful sound?" It wasn't until years later that I could truly appreciate Yes and many of the other bands my dad introduced me to. So I'll close by posting another really great Yes song and urge all of you to try and obtain a copy of "Close to the Edge" somewhere. And finally, start listening to Good music and criticizing Bad music.
Yes - South Side of the Sky
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