16 June 2003
(Catchy title, I know.)
As I am wont to do, today I kept middle-clicking on the random link from blo.gs, looking for something interesting. I love things like that, like eMule’s random poem, probably because I never know how to browse: in a shop I’ll usually just get what I’m looking for, look for some other things I already knew about, and leave.
After finding a lot of similar-looking Blogger sites and a quite incredible percentage of Spanish weblogs, along with a few from Persian Blog, I found a music weblog called Homeland Obscurity.
‘Excellent,’ I thought, and then, ‘I really should add a music category. There’s so much cool stuff out there to talk about.’
Now as good as Homeland Obscurity is — although I confess I haven’t downloaded any of the tracks yet — that’s not what caught my eye. No, what did that was The Future in 30 Seconds: Listening to iTunes for Free. It’s about how kids, who don’t have credit cards, are browsing the iTunes store and listening to the 30-second samples for songs over and over.
This attention-span deficient way of listening to songs contrasts with what, for me, is the real potential of MP3, Ogg, AAC, and the like: getting more music. Bands can provide tracks for people to download and hear for themselves, not limited by time limits on radio or commercial interests in record stores. Sorry if this sounds a bit dotcom, but they can reach their audience directly, providing good-sized, unrestricted sample tracks to listen to and entice you into getting the album.
Two bands that provide full songs for download are The Decemberists and Marianas. I discovered both through AlmostCool, although in different ways. Marianas is a band that Aaron Coleman, the site owner, is in, and he reviewed a couple of CDs by The Decemberists.
Neither of these bands is on a big label. I don’t even know if Marianas are signed (ed: they are on Elastic Heart, a label that appears to have only one band). But by providing full tracks for me to download, I really feel like I can get a handle on them.
The Decemberists are a rock and roll slash country slash interesting instruments slash lyrically inventive band from Portland, Oregon. Of their songs available to download, Here I Dreamt I was An Architect is the best. In fact, it’s a masterpiece. Not only does it have an amusing title, it’s a neatly twisted sing-along-a-love-song. Colin Meloy’s voice isn’t the smoothest, yet it never grates and the lyrics are not only memorable but also catchy (yes, there’s a difference). The other two are decent enough. July! July! is an up-tempo song that would be summer hit material if it weren’t for Meloy’s voice and the blood and guts. Grace Cathedral Hill is far slower than the other two and just a wee bit boring, truth be told.
Marianas are even more interesting to me. I know Aaron Coleman is a big fan of post-rock and ambient and all that stuff, as am I. So I was half-fearing that Marianas (there are two other members, but I know nothing about them) would be re-treading old ground, too full of influences to do anything that interesting.
As is common, I was wrong. They too have included a track that’s not at the same standard as the rest, but at least it has a good title: We were safe now we’re sorry.
Hunting and pecking is like a cross between Mogwai and Four Tet for most of its length, which is no bad thing, but every so often the drums come to the fore. They’re raw, they’re crisp, and they remind me a little of EITS, whose drummer is the star (especially on A Poor Man’s Memory). There’s none of the sheer military violence of EITS here, and in fact I don’t really know how to describe it, although it does have a military feel at times: here a drumroll, there a machine gun. It’s just fascinating listening.
The third track of theirs, My body is a sail, is my favourite. It’s the only one with vocals, which helps, and there’s a gorgeous blend of muted vocals, guitars, and ambient sounds. The drums are there again although not in as much force as before. It might be the wow-cool-new-stuff factor that’s making me say this, but this is as good as anything Mogwai have done since Young Team. With the possible exception of My Father My King and Xmas Steps from EP+6.
Needless to say, as soon as funds permit I shall be buying Castaways and Cutouts and Onward + Upward. This isn’t out of any desire to stick it to the RIAA or to be ‘well alternative’ in a more accurate sense than is usually intended. I just want to buy them because they both sound brilliant. Picking a ‘better’ one would be unfair, not just on the artists but on me.
decemberists
if you went to the kill rockstars website, you could also be enjoying this soldiering life by the decemberists too and also
Posted by irene on 20 January 2004 at 21:53:20.