10 Songs I'm Constantly Listening to These Days

In alphabetical order:

1. Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra - "The Killing Type" (2012)

2. Courtney Barnett - "Pedestrian at Best" (2015)

3. The Black Watch - "Meg" (2013)

4. Enuff Z'Nuff - "When Doves Cry" (2014)

5. Joyce Manor - "Heart Tattoo" (2014)

6. Neneh Cherry Feat. Robyn - "Out of the Black" (2014)

7. Pinback - "From Nothing to Nowhere" (2007)

8. TV on the Radio - "Could You" (2014)

9. Ume - "Too Big World" (2015)

10. U2 - "Volcano" (2014)

- Snilch

10 Songs I'm Constantly Listening to These Days

In alphabetical order:

1. Able Baker Fox - "Stuttering" (2008)

2. Alvvays - "Adult Diversion" (2014)

3. bis - "Cubis (I Love You)" (2014)

4. Cloud Nothings - "Cut You" (2012)

5. Dum Dum Girls - "Cult of Love" (2014)

6. Future Islands - "Seasons (Waiting on You)" (2014)

7. King Tuff - "Headbanger" (2014) (there's a cameo from Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols)

8. Tralala - "No Pain No Pain" (2005 - great for the harmonies alone)

9. TV on the Radio - "Happy Idiot" (2014)

10. The War on Drugs - "Under the Pressure"

- Snilch

TV on the Radio - Seeds (2014)

There's never been any doubt about TV on the Radio's brilliance, in my book. The issue has been consistency and repeated listenability.

This is, finally, the great TVOTR album I have been waiting for.

The leadoff, "Quartz," sets the tone. It's more ethereal than I'd expect, almost whimsical musically. Expertly produced and written.

It's both less heavy and more dense as an album than previous offerings. The guitar sludge has been replaced by a backbone of keyboard sludge, which really works for their style. The first four tracks ("Quartz," "Careful You," "Could You," and the star of the album, "Happy Idiot") are as strong a quartet as you'd ever hope for. Sure, the rest of the album is not quite that strong, but even the slightest of those songs are still good.

TV on the Radio - "Could You"

I am unbelievably pleased I somehow stumbled on to this. Hopefully you will follow my advice and do the same.

CD Placement Rating: Car iPod.

- Snilch

Pitchfork: Judgement Day

Generally, I don't read reviews prior to listening to music.  And if I do, I tend to skim.  I've had bad experiences of letting the reviewer's opinion shape my own, rather than complement it.  I remember reading a blurb about Bob Mould's 1996 self-titled release, which complained to no end about the use of a drum machine on the album.  To this day, I can't get past the drums when I listen to it.  Lesson learned.


One exception for me over the years has been Pitchfork.  They introduced me to Les Savy Fav, The Go! Team, Sufjan Stevens, Grizzly Bear, Jay Reatard (RIP), British Sea Power, Enon, Iron and Wine, The Fall, and countless others.  They've steered me right with their reviews, and gave me a lot of great music which has made my collection that much better.  Amongst other review sites, their historical place (well, internet historical place, at least) has been the home to the best music you've never heard of.  Their ear has always been on the ground.


Are there haters out there?  Sure.  You can find them out there (and no, I'm not doing your research for you), and they love to jump all over Pitchfork.  Not me.  The proof has always been in the pudding, and a Pitchfork 8.0 rating or better has generally resulted in a 60-75% success rate in my keeping the album, year after year.


However, I've had a bad, bad run with Pitchfork over the last two to three years; the metric is now more of a 10-20% rate, which is quite alarming.  In fact, I've had to revise my own formula:  now I won't touch an album unless it's rated 9.0 or better. 


So at this point, I need to decide whether this has been a lull, a trend, or if Pitchfork and I no longer see eye to eye in terms of what is good to great music.  Here are the albums I listened to, and their respective Pitchfork ratings:

1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009): 9.6
   
2. Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity (2007): 8.9
   
3. Deerhunter - Microcastle/Weird Era Continued (2008): 9.2
   
4. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca (2009): 9.2
   
5. Girls - Album (2009): 9.1
6. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest (2009): 9.0
   
7. Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules and Love Affair (2008): 9.1
   
8. Max Tundra - Mastered by Guy at the Exchange (2002): 9.3
   
9. M83 - Saturdays = Youth (2008): 8.5
   
10. No Age - Nouns (2008): 9.2
    
11. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (2009): 8.4
12. TV on the Radio - Dear Science (2008): 9.2
    

Out of these twelve albums, I expect the following breakdown:

• 3-4 Car CD Changer albums
• 5-6 Portable CD case albums
• 2 CD Rack albums
• 1 Sell-back 1 /Pile of death

In other words, nine out of twelve above average; two that are not necessarily my speed but so good I need to keep them; and one that just misses the mark entirely.  I'm being kind here; really, all nine 9.0's should be at least above average, and three 8.0's should be average or above average.



To be fair, I included 3 "best new music" albums I have reviewed here previously (Grizzly Bear, TV on the Radio, and M83), and probably would have bought regardless of review; the rest were acquired strictly on Pitchfork's review.

The results?  Here's how they broke down:



Car CD Changer 
Projected: 3-4
Actual: 2 

1. Animal Collective - Merriweather Post Pavilion (2009): 9.6 
2. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (2009): 8.4

- Not a good start -- only two CD's makes it here, oddly the best and worst-rated of the bunch.  Animal Collective is borderline CD Rack/Portable, but gets the nod to this level because its so well produced; ultimately it lacks some soul to be rated higher.  I hear a little Howard Jones and The Beach Boys here, oddly -- and it's a little boring at times, but not terribly so.  For The Pains, the updated shoegazer vibe here is great.



Portable CD Case  
Projected: 5-6
Actual:  4

1. Deerhunter - Microcastle/Weird Era Continued (2008): 9.2
2. Girls - Album (2009): 9.1
3. Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest (2009): 9.0
4. M83 - Saturdays = Youth (2008): 8.5

- Strike two.  Not only are we still running behind, but M83 and Grizzly Bear were already known to me.  Deerhunter is quite good, although Microcastle is the strong swimmer of the double album.  The Girls album grew on me, despite the odd vocals (see the trend continue below); here they work. 

 
CD Rack  
Projected: 2
Actual:1

1. TV on the Radio - Dear Science (2008): 9.2

-  TV on the Radio was also part of my previous experience.  So of the seven albums I liked enough to keep, I would have bought three anyways.  We all see where this is going.

Sell-back Pile 1/Pile of Death

Projected: 0-1
Actual: 5

1. Dirty Projectors - Bitte Orca (2009): 9.2
   
2. Deerhoof - Friend Opportunity (2007): 8.9
   
3. Hercules and Love Affair - Hercules and Love Affair (2008): 9.1
4. Max Tundra - Mastered by Guy at the Exchange (2002): 9.3
5. No Age - Nouns (2008): 9.2 
   

- What is it with these odd vocals?  To put it kindly, all of these groups have very, er, "non-traditional rock voices."  (Not so kindly:  stop singing.)  And every damn vocalist sounds exactly the same!  All weird falsetto male voices.  Dirty Projectors is a perfect example: one of those "really trying to be quirky" bands that were failed by their ambition -- if you can buy the vocals, you might love these guys.  I didn't.  Meanwhile Hercules and Love Affair wishes for the return of disco in a way that I really don't.  No Age does try hard to rock it out, but I don't believe they understand how to.  Max Tundra was so terrible one of my CD players refused to even read it.  I think I'd rather gouge my eyes out that listen to Deerhoof's broken English warblings ever again.


Conclusions:  I would have accepted nine above average and two average albums;  I ended up with six and one respectively.  Five albums that don't make the cut is not acceptable.  So their rate of success here is 63% - that's an F where I went to school.  It's even worse if you look at just the 9+ albums -- it's only 5 out of 9!  Dismal.

My final verdict is that I cannot trust these guys any more.  Sure, there are some gems here, but I'll need more than just their word to go get an album these days.  It was fun while it lasted.

- Snilch

New Music, 2007-2008 - Part 2

Part Two of our look at new music. Onward:

• The Black Watch - Icing the Snow Queen (2008). One of my all-time favorite groups -- it's just too bad that no one has ever heard of them. They have an amazing story, which will have to wait until their next album, but here's a quick synopsis: The Black Watch (essentially John Andrew Fredrick and J'Anna Jacoby) had ten releases over a 14-year period, before Jacoby left to tour with Rod Stewart (!), leaving Fredrick on his own to release four albums and one EP since 2003. It has felt like a bad breakup; of the four post-Jacoby albums, this is closest to the classic Black Watch sound. Think The Cure meets My Bloody Valentine with pop sensibilities. I may enjoy Tattermedallion a little more this one in the post-Jacoby era, but this album is really nice -- if you like your music a little folkier, this is a great place to start with your first Black Watch album. And if this were a breakup, I think Fredick has finally been able to push past it.
  Verdict: Highly recommended. This album, Amphetamines, The King of Good Intentions, Lime Green Girl, Tattermedallion... I just named five of my favorite albums. Get one of them if you can find them (although Lime Green Girl is probably the best place to start). Portable CD Case "with privileges."
  
  
• The B-52's - Funplex (2007). Hard to believe, but this is only their seventh album, and the first since 1992's Good Stuff. As usual,The B-52's bring incredible harmonies to the table to contrast with Fred Schneider's delivery (his best line: "I am a fully eroticized being!"). This does not feel like an album that they've been creating for 16 years, more like picking up where they left off with Cosmic Thing: danceable, poppy, quirky fun. No huge hits here, but enjoyable.
  Verdict: Recommended. CD Rack.
  
  
• CSS - Donkey (2008). Album #2 from everyone's favorite Brazilian dance troupe finds the band adding a little more musical oomph to their sound, with mixed results. My favorite song is "How I Became Paranoid," which properly marries indie rock sensibilities, pop harmonies, and a dance beat (I give it an 89, Dick!) into a great pop song. That's a really tough thing to create. If they continue on this trajectory, I would not be surprised if their next album was landmark in quality. Still, this album is very very good and quite a fun listen. Hop on while they're still incubating.
  Verdict: Recommended. Portable CD Case.
  
  
• Nerf Herder - IV (2008). Most famous for writing the title theme for the TV show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," the nerd indie rock boys are back. They've always struck me as being on the cusp of something really great, but that promise has never translated into a great album. That's the case here once again -- bits and bobs are decent, but the songs themselves are just lacking. I think they want to be this generation's Devo; they need to be smarter both musically and lyrically to get there.
  Verdict: Not recommended. Pile of death.
  
  
• R.E.M. - Accelerate (2008). Let me start by stating that I am not an R.E.M. fan. I associate old R.E.M. (i.e.,1983-87, the I.R.S. records) with visiting my brother at Kenyon College in the early 90's -- that was the vibe of the campus and it seemed like we heard them everywhere we went. I associate Green (e.g., "Orange Crush," "Stand," "Pop Song '89") with my freshman year in college; when I hear anything from Out of Time (e.g., "Losing My Religion," "Shiny Happy People"), I think of my senior year in college. And when I hear anything else (1992-2007), I think of a band that lost its way (i.e., crap). This album makes me think of Kenyon. It's not quite as jangly as that era but it has that vibe. No real "hits" here, but I like this better than anything since Out of Time. Minus the regrettable last song, I think they've done what U2 has failed to do: recapture their magic from the 80's. (IMHO, of course!)
  Verdict: Recommended. Portable CD Case.
  
  
• Sloan - Parallel Play (2008). Sloan was on a bit of a run: the career compilation A-Sides Win was fantastic, the follow-up Never Hear the End of It (reviewed here) was absolutely great -- the best, most consistent album they've ever done -- and the show that followed it was a great mix of their new and old material. Their show on this tour (reviewed here) was a step back; Parallel Play (reviewed... well, I guess right here) is a further drop-off. I would not be surprised if these were castoffs from the aforementioned NHTEOI sessions... two excellent songs, the rest completely pedestrian and sadly disappointing.
  Verdict: Not recommended. Sell-back pile 1.
  
  
• TV on the Radio - Dear Science (2008). When Scott and I saw these guys at the Boston Music Awards a few years ago, we were blown away by the first couple of songs, then not so much by the rest. And their Return to Cookie Mountain album (although it was universally praised) just didn't move me. But I heard something in their music that I liked, so when Chris Dahlen's review for Pitchfork said this was catchier than their previous albums, I felt I needed to take the plunge. And this is very good. It's like Bad Brains decided to mellow out and try to mimic Prince; at other times that have moments that recall Morphine, Hybrasil, or The Michael Stanley Band. (Okay, the latter is quite a stretch, but I couldn't resist the reference.) This may not be exactly up my alley, but it is really good. Headphones or big stereo listen for this one for sure.
  Verdict: Recommended. CD Rack.

- Snilch