#rem – Eyes Like the Summer

One of the unexpected upsides of the world shutting down has been the absolute avalanche of artists doing live-streamed shows and posting new material online. Aside from Death Cab’s Ben Gibbard, who recently wrapped his series of daily shows that we highlighted two weeks ago, it seems like everyone’s getting into the game as folks realize these stay-at-home orders are unlikely to end anytime soon. (And that folks are going to lose their goddamned minds without music or something positive to look forward to each day as this stretches on.) Just this week alone I caught performances from Jeff Tweedy (who’s doing super low-fi nightly “shows,” just hanging out with his family), two solid sets by Rick from Pile, a solo show by Dave Matthews, a mini-set from John Fogerty, and another hour from Gibbard (he’s since transitioned to weekly shows).

It’s not a perfect system — there were almost as many misses as technical glitches prevented me from catching shows by Hamilton Leithauser, Waxahatchee, and Kevin Morby, while several other shows popped up with such little notice they were over by the time I got the alert — but I feel like things will sort themselves out over time as folks figure out how to harness the technology. (At least posting the shows to YouTube so people can see them after the fact in case streams dropped or timezones prevented them from watching in the first place.) I’ve gotten into the rhythm of checking Songkick’s list of live streams each morning to see what’s on tap and then popping in to Bandsintown to see what they might’ve caught that Songkick missed. And then there’s all the stuff folks are posting on Instagram that’s the equivalent of throwing glitter out the window on a blustery day. (Honestly — fuck the ‘gram.)

Here are a couple highlights to get you started — first, there’s this performance from Wilco just before the globe closed down, shot in one of the prettier parts of our beloved city by the lake, the Chicago Athletic Association (home to Cindy’s lovely rooftop bar, one of many spots on my recommendation list). Great building, great band, great city (correction — the GREATEST city #GPOE!) — give it a listen here:

Then there was this performance by Tweedy and his sons from their bathtub for Kimmel, doing a lovely little version of “Evergreen” from last year’s solo album Warmer. Three things this video and Tweedy’s nightly shows remind you of — 1) his son Sammy looks just like him (it’s uncanny), 2) Tweedy’s complete lack of bombast or ego — as well as his subtle, sharp sense of humor — are really refreshing (he’s constantly in pajama pants and/or a robe, looking more like a disheveled asylum patient rather than a rock star), and 3) he really seems like someone you’d want to hang around with. (Or at least I do — him, Nick Offerman, Dave Grohl, and Josh Homme — two sets of respective friends. I could be the bridge between the two tandems — let’s make this happen, guys.) Enjoy this taste of what the nightly shows bring:

As I mentioned above, Waxahatchee has been doing several live streams lately, most of which have sadly not been posted online yet. Thankfully this snippet from one of her recent sets on SiriusXM (which is streaming free now thanks to the apocalypse) made its way to YouTube. She’s covering the recent Caroline Polachek song “So Hot You’re Hurting my Feelings” (which is an absolutely amazing title, BTW) and makes the song shine in a way the original never did for me. Give it a listen here:

Before we go there were a couple new releases to note, too — recent Australian fave Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever continue their hot streak, dropping the second single from their upcoming album, Sideways to New Italy (due out June 5). This one’s more of the same (not in a bad way) — triple guitar attack, solid melodies, and a brightness that’s much in demand these days. Looking forward to the new album — enjoy “She’s There” in the meantime:

Next comes a little ditty from hit or miss faves the Magnetic Fields whose songwriter and snarky soul Stephin Merritt subscribes to the Bob Pollard school of songwriting, releasing more than most can keep up with (and more than most would advise, arguing for the quality over quantity side of the ledger). Similar to Dr Bob, Merritt loves thematic, concept albums — the band’s last project was 50 Song Memoir with one song for/from each year of Merritt’s life, while they’ve previously done an album full of songs starting with the word “I” (the aptly named i) and the beloved 69 Love Songs, whose concept is in the title. And while the quality of these albums, as well as Merritt’s myriad side projects, varies as much as Pollard’s, both have written some absolute gems in the midst of the “meh” — more than most bands could dream of in their entire careers, in fact. (GBV, as my eight faithful readers know, are a constant, beloved presence here, and the Mags are a similarly loved quantity for their beautiful, heartwarming songs — I got married to one of em, after all.)

The latest concept is short songs — the new album will have 28 songs, each less than three minutes long. (Quickies is due out May 15.) We’ll see how it goes — the first single didn’t do it for me, but something about the sweetly sincere coda of “will we ever dance again?” resonated. Check out “Kraftwerk in a Blackout” here:

We’ll close with one more song whose content feels in line with our current state — former REM frontman Michael Stipe released an unfinished demo this week of work he’s doing with National guitarist Aaron Dessner. It’s a pretty song, as you’d expect for something with Dessner’s fingerprints, and the lyrics really hit home in light of recent days. The title tells the tale — “No Time for Love Like Now.” Amen. Give it a listen here:

Until next time — stay home, stay safe, amici… — BS

While we continue to get bludgeoned under a tidal wave of disappointing news — the usual political nonsense in addition to the cascade of reports of sexual harassment by seemingly decent people: actors Kevin Spacey and Jeffrey Tambor, comedian Louis CK, chef John Besh — I thought I’d offer some refuge in the form of musical distraction before the long weekend got started. This week turned up a couple good lists and a trio of good tracks to enjoy, starting with the former from the lads and lasses at Stereogum who must’ve been prepping for New Year’s Eve as they were counting down everything around them this week. The two worth peeping are these guys — one running down the nine best REM songs since drummer Bill Berry left and one tallying the ten best Echo and the Bunnymen songs. It was an appropriate week for both — the 25th anniversary edition of REM’s Automatic for the People dropped this week (reason #7657 why I am officially OAF), and nothing serves as a better soundtrack to a cold and rainy week like the Bunnymen.

The lists tackle the bands from slightly different angles — for REM they mine the underappreciated late era releases, which admittedly don’t shine quite as bright as the band’s classic early albums, but as you can see from the list still have plenty of bright spots worth admiring. Their #9 ranks closer to my top vote from this era, a lush and beautiful ode that almost makes me like the titular location (ALMOST…), but they do a pretty good job with their selections and make you want to revisit the later albums. For the Bunnymen they attack the inverse, mapping out the band’s classic early albums and absolutely nail it. Author Andrew Holter does a great job, not only picking excellent songs and ordering them well (he’s right, his top call is a no-brainer — a magisterial masterpiece that never gets old), but his explanations and enthusiasm make for a really enjoyable read. If you’ve ever been curious about these guys (and you should, because they’re amazing), this is a great place to start. A woefully underappreciated favorite.

As for the tunes, there were three that are worth passing on from additional favorites — an unreleased track from hometown heroes Wilco, a new single from the ever-elusive Parquet Courts, and one from the steady, smoldering BRMC. We’ll start with the former and a track off the deluxe reissue of their sophomore album, Being There, which dropped this week with a bunch of extras including this one. It’s a simple, straight-forward number, just frontman Jeff Tweedy and his acoustic, which as we’ve seen so many times over the years is really all you need most days. Even just getting started 20+ years ago you can hear the weariness in his voice, one that’s only deepened since then. It’s a good addition to the catalog — give it a listen here:

Next comes the best single off yet another side project/reincarnation for the Courts, who continue their trend of saving their most consistent, flawless material for their main releases. This one would fit in well, though, the lead track off what sounds great on paper — a collaboration with Italian composer Daniele Luppi and Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O — but similar to Luppi’s previous outing (another city-focused album (Rome) with cool kid catnip on it (Jack White and Danger Mouse)) it’s less than the sum of its parts. This one still shines, though — check out “Soul and Cigarette” here:

We’ll close with the lead single from BRMC’s upcoming album and seven albums in it shows the band, which does dark and stormy better than almost anyone, hasn’t slowed a beat. It’s a noisy little ripper in line with the rest of their stuff and has me excited to see what the rest of the album has in store. Follow on singles “Haunt” and “Question of Faith” showcase the band’s other patented mood, that of slow-burning blues, but this one’s from their raucous side, all divebombing guitars and thundering drums. It’s a blast — check it out here:

0 Shares

Tag: #rem

Shinburns and Streams: Life During the Pandemic

Count it Down: Dynamite, Cigarettes, and Wild Little Things