Tag: #bigredmachine

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Fright Night — A Soundtrack to the Screams

In honor of today’s holiday, I thought what better way to celebrate than swooping in with a much delayed post (what better way to scare the bejeebus out of someone than seeing my face at your door/posts in your stream, right? “Oh god no — IT’S HIM AGAIN!!!) And to keep it festive we’ll run another round of everyone’s favorite game — SUNSHINE SPEED DATING! (Halloween edition) So without further ado, get your patented one-liners and heartbreaking nostalgia ready, cuz it’s time to roll!

DING! “Why hello there — look at all of you! You look like the sweetest group of grandmas and grandpas I’ve ever seen, with your pressed guayaberas and lovely dresses.  You must be out celebrating the 25th anniversary of the amazing Buena Vista Social Club album!  That album was SO good — I remember when I traveled there around that time, those songs were everywhere.  Coming out of bars, the hotels, even random performers on the street would play some of the songs.  Not that I’m complaining — those songs were and still are amazing and it’s nice to hear you all humming them still. Your voices harmonized together so beautifully.  It’s really an honor to meet you all.

I have to admit, though, I’m a little surprised to see you all at a speed dating event. What’s that? Yes, I know 80% of those over 65 are still sexually active. And yes, I know I wouldn’t be here if folks like you didn’t “get your grind on” when your “plums were howling” back in the day.  You don’t need to be so graphic, senor.  I’m just saying, you gotta be careful — STDs are rampant in your age group. Like, out of control — historically high rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis! That sh#$ can drive you insane — it killed Al Capone, ya know. Napoleon too! Oh don’t get offended, I’m only trying to protect you. Just cuz you’re 90 doesn’t mean you shouldn’t wrap it up, that’s all I’m saying!  Oh cmon, don’t be like that…  Well, I still love the album and really enjoyed the extra disc full of unreleased songs. “La Pluma’s” one of my faves! Have a good day — stay safe!”


DING! “Oh hey! Kevin Morby and Hamilton Leithauser!  So cool to meet you guys — you are two of my favorites!  Did you guys come dressed as each other? That’s pretty funny — is that something you guys are doing as part of the joint tour you’re on now? Cuz that’d be pretty funny.  Ham, you’d come out in a long, wavy wig and sing Kevin’s songs and he’d come out in a suit and tie and sing yours. And then in the third act y’all could switch back and just trade songs as yourselves and close things out with a bang. It could be pretty epic — really live up to that “Fall Mixer” title, ya know?

Speaking of — have you guys come up with a cool combo name now that you’re touring together? Like Bennifer or Morbzahatchee, like when Kevin was doing the weekly virtual shows/rodeos with Ms Katie? You could go indie band and be Leitby, or more ad slogany like 2021 — In Need of Mor Leit. Or play up the academic angle and call yourselves Morhaus University. OOH! Maybe go truly extreme and call it the Hammorb of the Gods. That’d be pretty sick. What’s that? No, you’re right — I guess  Fall Mixer’s good, too…   Just kind of… plain. Anyway — don’t get offended.  I’m excited to see the show in a few weeks. Really like the new song — the intro reminds me of “Blackout” a little.  In a good way!”


DING! “Hey! Eddie Vedder! SO cool to meet you — I LOVE your costume. Tom Petty from the Alice in Wonderland video! That’s so cool. I love Tom Petty. And that was such a fun/weird video. Yeah, can’t believe he’s been gone so long — four frigging years?! I don’t know how that’s even possible. What’s that?  Oh yeah — I’m really looking forward to watching that new documentary on the making of Wildflowers. That was such a good album…

You know it’s funny you came dressed as him because the first thing that popped into my head when I listened to your new song from the upcoming album was that it totally reminded me of a Petty track. Just out on the open road, big hooks and melody — I really liked it.  Eager to see what else you’ve got in store for us.  Hey remember that time you climbed into the rafters at those early shows and were hanging there above the stage?  You, like, totally could have died, man.  Do you ever think about that? And now that dude who’s banging Megan Fox copied you and did it at a show recently. Does it annoy you that people like him are stealing your moves and not somebody cooler? Oh it does. And you didn’t know that’d happened? Oh. Ohhhhhhh now I feel bad. Oh man, um, don’t….don’t feel bad, I’m sure it was a sincere homage and not a desperate cry for attention. You still rule? Really! Ed Ved! Don’t despair!”


DING!  “WHOA! Speaking of dudes who rule — the Coug and the Boss! You guys are legends! What’s that? Sorry, Mr Mellencamp, I know no one calls you the Cougar anymore. That’s just what I grew up knowing you as, didn’t mean to offend you. And I’m sorry Mr Springsteen, I know I should show more respect to you, too. Yes, I know you hang out with the former President, sir.  No, I don’t think HE calls you the Boss (although to be honest, I’m pretty sure he could if he wanted to, right? Cuz he’s, like, THE Boss? And if THE Boss wants to call the OTHER Boss The Boss, theennnnnnnnn…. ya kinda just gotta go with it, right? Yes, I know I’m not the President. Yes, not even close, sir. And nobody cares that we’re from the same city — got it. Sorry to offend….)

AAAAANYway — off to a really good start here… I gotta say, it’s so funny you two came dressed as each other, too — did you see Leithauser and Morby did the same thing?  Great minds, I guess. You should think about keeping your hair that way, Mr Springsteen — that upswoop looks really fun. Gives you a more lighthearted feel.  Not that anyone would think you’re a bit prickly. Nooo….. Hey, I dig the song you two did together — really gives off a classic Mellencamp vibe.  What’s that? No I don’t think it overshadows you, Mr Boss, your part holds its own. It’s just the music sounds more Mellencampy to me — not in a bad way, Mr Cougar! What now? No I don’t think the President overshadows you either — he just has a lot to say and kind of talks slower so it SEEMS like he might be taking more time. And you know, like you said, he IS the former President and all, right? So it’s kind of an honor to be cut off by him, right? Leader of the free world!  Oh cmon, don’t be like that — you’re still the Boss, right? Bruuuuuuuuuuuce.  BRUUUUUUUUUCE! Cheer up!”

DING! “Oh wow, Mr Yorke, I didn’t expect to see you here! You flew all the way over here just for the event? That’s pretty impressive.  They don’t have things like this back in the UK? Oh you just love costumed celebrations? I guess that makes sense. Only — what are you dressed as?  You just look like a random mix of words on a poster. Kind of like someone swirled those magnetic poetry things around on the fridge into an unintelligible mess. Oh it’s a protest board. Got it. So all the things you despise.  Makes sense.  Ah yes, I see now — capitalism, technology, government… Definitely picked those up from you over the years.

I gotta say, there’s a LOT of words on here, Mr Yorke — almost too many to make sense of them. What’s that? Yes, I know there’s a lot to be upset about these days. Yes, the past five years HAVE been exceedingly difficult. Almost overwhelming at times — completely agree.  Hey I was glad to hear the band was releasing a bunch of unreleased tracks for the anniversaries of Kid A and Amnesiac next month! That’s got to be pretty exciting right? “If You Say the Word” was really good — really excited to see what else is on there.  What’s that? Yes, I know it doesn’t make up for all the things we’ve got to fix in the world and at best offers “scant few seconds of solace,” you’re right. I gotta say, though — some of these things on your board seem sort of trivial. Like wearing black socks with gym shoes?  Or white bean chili? None of those things seem worth losing sleep over. And cargo shorts — are they really that offensive? I mean seriously.  Oh alright — there’s no need to shout, Mr Yorke. I can see you feel strongly on this issue. “Unholy abomination” seems a LITTLE excessive, but let’s agree to disagree here. I still love your guys’ music (even if the last album was a disappointment — that’s right, I said it! Stick THAT in your single set of pockets and sulk!) Byeeeeeeeeee!”

DING! “Oh wow, Aaron Dessner and Justin Vernon!  Cool to see you guys here! Did you….BOTH….come dressed as Bruce Hornsby?  Wow. That’s, uh….a weird choice, but yeah, I guess it makes sense.  Yes, I know he’s a huge influence and you love his music. Can TOTALLY tell.  (Particularly you, Mr Vernon… Yes, I did see you had him come onstage to play a song or two with you on your last tour.  That….rocked?)

Um anyways… so I saw you two recently released the second album under your Big Red Machine moniker. Some nice stuff on there.  Now that you mention it, I actually think you might have more guest stars than tones on the album! What’s that? I mean — Sharon Van Etten, Fleet Foxes, Michael Stipe, Ben Howard, Taylor Swift… All give nice contributions, it just sounds a little….monotone after a bit.  Kind of like….no — I won’t say it… No, don’t tear up Mr Vernon, I just don’t like him as much as you two do. He’s fine in small doses — I just wouldn’t have used him as the template for like half of my recent material. But that’s just me — what do I know?! It’s fine — you two have fun out there. I bet you’ll get a ton of candy. Nothing gets the people pumped like midtempo piano crooners….

DING DING DING!

We’ll close with a couple live tunes, since I’m slowly filling the biggest hole I’ve had for that stuff since I started going to shows ~25 years ago. The first one comes from hometown hero Jeff Tweedy, who recently did a solid Neil Young cover with his sons and a few other musicians at the beloved hole in the wall the Hideout back home. It’s this super weird/cool bar that’s basically in a house in this industrial part of town — totally out of sorts with its surroundings (“one of these things is nooooot like the other!”), but also totally cool. You can sense the warm, welcoming vibe in the clip — check out Tweedy doing “Old Country Waltz” here:

Lastly wanted to highlight a show that My Morning Jacket did the other night as part of its ongoing tour. I’ve been obsessively listening to the album since it came out a week or two ago, and each day or two a new song gets lodged in my head like an unrelenting earworm. They played a couple of the tracks when I got to see them recently (pretty much the best return to live music I could have expected after all this time away), but this set has several more I didn’t get to hear that night (including current faves “In Color,” “Complex,” and “Never in the Real World.”) They also deliver some scorching versions of old favorites, such as “Mahgeetah,” “Evil Urges,” and “Lay Low.” They even did a ripping version of “Dancefloors,” which they haven’t played regularly since like 2015! You can watch the entire ~2.5 hour set here — it’s definitely worth your time.

That’s it for now — hope everyone enjoys their circus peanuts and Almond Joys! Until next time, amici!

–BS

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Pinched Nerves, Open Ears: Welcome Offerings from Old Friends

Since I can’t manage to do much else this weekend, having apparently obliterated a nerve in the midst of such strenuous activities as stretching when I woke up yesterday morning, I slowly clawed my way to the keyboard to throw out a few finds before I pass out from not being able to breathe. They’re all from folks I’ve written about before, so shouldn’t be too surprising — I’d hate to startle you and have you end up in the same state I am. #eldercare

First up comes the lead single from the Dodos’ upcoming album Certainty Waves, which will be the seventh for the San Fran duo. It’s been three years since their last one, Individ, which for whatever reason didn’t resonate with me as much as previous favorites (several of which have appeared on year end lists here). It’s not like they changed up their formula and adopted the dreaded synthesizers I lambaste so often. Then and now frontman Meric Long and drummer Logan Kroeber layer guitars and atypical rhythms up to surprising levels, balancing the noise with Long’s warm voice and lyrics. It’s worked really well in the past, but didn’t connect quite the same last time out. We’ll see if things hit differently this go round — step inside the “Forum” and see what you think:

Next comes two more songs from the upcoming debut from Big Red Machine, which as I wrote about a few weeks ago is the fusion of gents from beloved indie gems — Justin Vernon from Bon Iver and Aaron Dessner from the National. They’ve already released four songs from the album online, so with these two I think we’ve got a pretty good idea what the album will sound like, and thankfully it’s every bit as pleasant as you’d expect from those two alma maters. They continue to mine the electronics-infused vein both bands have been exploiting lately, while balancing the bloops and chill with Vernon’s angelic croon, which remains as bright and warming as a blast of sun through the clouds in the middle of winter. “I Won’t Run From It” is the favored of the new pair, another spare pairing of acoustic and that voice — give it a listen here:

Batting third we’ve got an odds and sods compilation of unreleased stuff from recent discovery Pile, the bombers from Boston I wrote about back in January after stumbling upon them in the midst of my annual scan of other folks’ best of lists. I didn’t quite agree with the album that landed them there, but it piqued my interest enough to go back through their older material and I’m sure glad I did, as they frequently call to mind fave thrashers Jesus Lizard. The first cut from this collection (due out next month apparently) is more subdued then some of their other stuff, but showcase how effectively the band builds tension in their songs (AND how compelling a voice frontman Rick Maguire has). I’m excited to see them when they come to town in a few months — I might not be able to hear after it, but if that’s the case it’s been a fun run. Enjoy it while you can:

In the cleanup spot we’ve got a couple aging veterans, two albums that’ve been around for twenty years and walked very different paths (the thought of Ben Gibbard hanging out with the wild-eyed Keith Flint is pretty comical actually), but whose impact was felt far beyond their niche communities in the intervening years. The two albums are Something About Airplanes from Death Cab for Cutie and Fat of the Land from Prodigy, whose histories and resonance are recounted by Stereogum and Pitchfork, respectively, from their weekly trips in the wayback machine.

As suggested, the two bands couldn’t be more different — Death Cab were the soft, sensitive band from Seattle who quietly and earnestly tried to make you fall in love with them with their lovely lyrics and melodies. Prodigy were the hard, bombastic band from Britain who loudly and belligerently tried to make you move (ZFG for falling in love with them) with their bludgeoning beats and non-sensical (and occasionally insipid) lyrics. Despite those differences, both albums had outsized impact on the population and have continued to for over twenty years — Death Cab became the poster children for the sentimental set, soundtracking untold dozens of shows and movies as the sonic synonym for angst and unrequited love; Prodigy fostered the first tsunami of electronica with fellow Britons the Chemical Brothers, helping create the wave that laid waste to the country in the late 90s/early 2000s (and is still doing so with second wave acts like Skrillex, Steve Aoki, etc). Both articles are worth a read and albums worth a listen, if for some reason you haven’t done so dozens of times already. I disagree with Pitchfork’s panning Prodigy and look back more fondly on Fat than they do — the lyrics may be inane/misogynistic, but those beats are hard to deny even now. “Diesel Power” was always one of my favorite bangers — check it out here:

We’ll close with a pretty ditty from the soundtrack to The Fundamentals of Caring, a charming little movie with the ever-winning Paul Rudd we found on Netflix recently. The song (and broader soundtrack) is done by Guster frontman Ryan Miller, a formerly beloved band that has gone down that dark path of synthesized pop in recent years, much to my chagrin. (I used to love these guys and they’re three of the funniest, nicest people to boot, having interviewed them several times over the years in my former life as a paid scribbler.) This song calls to mind some of the band’s old strengths, Miller’s endearing voice and disarming lyrics, so often on display in their heyday. All that’s missing is the juxtaposition with fellow singer Adam Gardner, whose bass always balanced Miller’s more nasally tones, and drummer Brian Rosenworcel’s hand percussion and it could have been from the trio’s early albums. It’s a nice reminder of those outings and a nice listen regardless, so give it a spin (and give the movie a try too — who doesn’t like Paul Rudd?!?):

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Big Red Sunday — Voices, Beasties, and a Champion in Waiting

With this month’s fantastic World Cup coming to a close in a few short hours, thought I’d pop in to make this a true champion of a day for you and highlight a few finds. First up is the latest from the relentlessly productive Bob Pollard and Sunshine fave Guided by Voices. Despite already putting out an album this year (on top of two last year and one the year before), they’re already teasing more new material — from their two already completed albums (one of which is a double album) that they’ll be releasing over the next two years.

Pollard’s definitely a “throw it at the wall and see what sticks” kind of guy — he’s released more albums under the GBV moniker than there have been World Cup champions (32 to a measly 20, plus umpteen other side projects and solo albums) — and at this point every offering highlights the dangers of that approach (vs bands who dote over material and go five or six years between albums). It’s impossible to both keep up and connect with so much new material (Tim Heidecker’s comments last year are hilarious and spot on), but there’s always some really good tunes in there so you can’t ignore them altogether. As the caller in that clip says the live shows are always the best place to find out which two/three/four songs you need to add to the arsenal (the band really is best at calling itself on its bullshit), which I’ll be doing in a few months when they roll through town. In the meantime, the first single’s not bad — the second half after the string interlude captures the uplift of some of the old GBV choruses nicely. Check it out here:

Next we’ll do a duo of offerings from the National — a couple new tracks that they debuted at a recent show in Croatia and the side project for guitarist Aaron Dessner. The former two are nothing earth-shaking — just two more solid songs from a band that’s quietly been putting out excellent albums for over a decade. I was reminded of this when they recently put out the live version of their exceptional 2007 album Boxer, which I still remember discovering accidentally back home, walking into long lost favorite Earwax Cafe for lunch and hearing this sad baritone coming out of the speakers. I initially thought it was Stephen Merritt from the Mag Fields, as it was a scorching hot day and I’d positioned myself next to the industrial-sized fan to cool down and couldn’t hear very well. Thankfully I asked the waitress what album it was of theirs (this being well before the days of Shazam) and she kindly corrected me as to who it really was. I’ve been a fan ever since, so hopefully they keep the trend going on the next album — “Quiet Light” is my initial favorite of the two:

As for the side project, it’s a hipster’s wet dream — Dessner from the National and Justin Vernon from Bon Iver releasing a surprise album as Big Red Machine. All that’s missing is some free trade coffee, hand stitched clothing, and eccentric facial hair and you’ve achieved their nirvana. It’s apparently a project that’s ten years in the making, and they recently debuted songs for it at Vernon’s Eaux Claires festival in his native Wisconsin and posted four studio versions online. It’s an interesting mix of Vernon’s recent more bleep-bloopy style Bon Iver and Dessner’s understated guitar riffs, but works well from what they’ve offered so far. Dessner’s looped part on “Gratitude” is pretty and hypnotic while Vernon again channels Bruce Hornsby (though I’m pretty sure Hornsby and his fans would have a heart attack if he ever sang a line like Vernon’s). My early fave from the four is “Hymnostic,” though, as it strips down the electronics and just showcases Vernon’s incredible voice, all warmth and soul over its three minute duration. We’ll see what the rest of the album holds — in the meantime, give it a listen here:

We’ll close with the latest in Stereogum’s ongoing series, “Things To Remind Everyone Sunshine is OAF,” this entry focusing on the 20th anniversary of the Beastie Boys’ Hello Nasty album. The article does a good job walking through some of the difficulties people had with the album and the trajectory the band was on (and where they subsequently ended up). I’ve always been hit or miss with them myself, liking a lot of what they put out, but then scratching my head on some of the songs/albums — I suppose they’re similar to GBV in that aspect, but the Beasties were always underwhelming if not terrible live for me (as most rap is) whereas GBV are always epic delights in person. I never struggled with this album as much as the author, though — I remember listening to it exhaustively the summer it came out (along with the Chili Peppers’ Stadium Arcadium), popping it in for the first time in the juco parking lot after class and loving it from the opening notes of “Super Disco Breaking.” It wasn’t “classic” Beasties with oodles of samples, it was weirder with different beats and sounds — and while it had monster hits like “Body Movin” and “Intergalactic” (which absolutely dominated MTV that summer), it also had quirkier favorites like “Just a Test,” “The Negotiation Limerick File,” and “Unite.” Baby Bobby spent a lot of time listening to those in his beat up old Probe that summer, testing the limits of his stock speakers while driving around causing mischief. Those are the three I’ll leave you with, too — the album as a whole still stands up, but those three remain faves, ones I still remember every word to despite not listening to them much in 20 years. Give em a ride yourself and get a little amped up before the big final.

Until next time! –BS