mrfuriousrecords.com – M/S Ride "I'm On The Brute Squad" out now!

Author: h

  • Dosh at recordBar, 2011 April 8

    “I think this is the first time I’ve played Kansas City,” Martin Dosh told the crowd at recordBar Friday night at the end of his set.  “Maybe the second?”

    “We would remember!” shouted a girl from the back of house, perfectly capturing how we felt about the music we’d just seen and heard.

    Seeing Dosh perform adds a dimension to the experience of his one-man gonzo hybrid jam music; a live-sampling concoction that takes the loops of electronic or dance music, the free, improvisational spirit and melodic sensibility of post-bop jazz, some noise, sets them against a hip-hop backbeat, and sounds a billion times warmer and better than any genre-referencing description I can write.  He sits in a cockpit of drums, Rhodes, synths, pedals, effects, and a master mixer, assembling and tearing apart his compositions piece by piece.

    After opening with his trademark “Hi, I’m Martin Dosh … I’ll talk to you again in forty minutes,” we were treated to five or six pieces, the maestro doffing his hat after each.  I have never been in a crowd of KC kids so unabashedly enthusiastic about music; the applause was the most genuine I’ve heard in this town, and people were gathered up front, packed in, gently dancing, nodding, or still and mesmerized by Dosh’s hands flying from drums to keys to knobs and back again, tapping pedals the whole time.  Dosh’s music is my ultimate self-soothing jam; I zoned, just water in hand, absorbing it, and grateful; it’s been six years since I heard him last (at the Uptown Bar) and who knows how long it might be again.

    (Update: The best free introduction to Dosh is to down his Daytrotter live sessions here and here. -h)

    Openers Roman Numerals finally clicked for me; I am converted, after thinking they were overrated for a long time.  Maybe it was the great sound (thanks, Duane), maybe they have solidified as a live unit, or maybe I finally understood that they’re not trying and not quite succeeding at being a pop band.  The deconstructive aspect of their 80s-revivalism is intentional, and not as far from those classics (I’m thinking Songs from the Big Chair here) as it may seem at first.

    I had a good night bringing albums home, too:

    From Halcyon, on vinyl:

    • R.E.M., Reckoning
    • Thin Lizzy, Live and Dangerous (I’ve been hunting for this!)
    • Black Sabbath, Black Sabbath

    From Dosh at the show: Dosh, Triple Rock

    From Half Price books:

    • The New Pornographers, Twin Cinema
    • R.E.M., Murmur
    • $2 rack: The Millions, Raquel (Good find; classic Lincoln indie band)
    • $2 rack: Roman Numerals, Roman Numerals
    • $2 rack: The Black Crowes, The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion
    • $2 rack: Boyz II Men, Cooleyhighharmony (the bonus track version.  I remember Mom buying it for me at Homer’s across from Gateway on “O” St.  I’m sure I was in middle school.)
    h

  • Panda Face “Dreamgirl Nightmare” Video

    h

  • The Sleepover – Shows

    Hi, gang. We’ve booked our first shows in Lincoln with the new Sleepover lineup:

    • March 31, Thursday, early show at Duffy’s The Zoo Bar, 6-9 PM, $10, w/ City City (LA)
    • May 20, Friday, 12th Street Pub (9 PM?) ($5 cover?) (venue calendar is way out of date…) the Bourbon Theater, show at 7 PM with Anniversaire, ($5?)

    Hope the drummer’s OK!  -h

    h

  • March & April Releases

    We’re excited to announce sophomore releases from both White Air and Panda Face in the coming months:

    • Panda Face’s Up In Space will drop on Saturday, March 12.  The record’s been in circulation for a bit, but will receive its official release via MFR.
    • Making Up The Truth, White Air’s follow-up to their self-titled album, is being mastered and should be ready for an April release (maybe the 16th, Record Store Day).

    See you!  -h

    h

  • I would land where I would land

    Earlier this week, Cory & Co. asked me to join The Sleepover on drums, after they parted musical ways on good terms with Brad.  We’ve agreed to a long-distance practice regimen, a couple shows in Nebraska in May, and to see how we feel at that point.

    Should be fun; it’s extra-exciting to be in a group with Scomo again, and doing something different than h&s, and playing drums is always endorphin-releasing.

    BOOM – BAP – BOOM B-BOOM – BAP! -h

    h

  • Studio work 2011

    In the wake of …Boots, priorities are the Loud Unnamed Band stuff, and Cory’s new solo record.  I’ve done some vocals for the second batch (tracks 7-13) of the Loud Band and we’re talking about them, and will re-record some of it (I’m sure) and then produce and mix those songs.  The only thing holding up the first six is finalizing a band name, and possible re-mixing them based on a new trick I’m using with batch two.

    Cory will be sending me demos to track drums to, and then we’ll get together for the rest of it.  Good times.  Progress will be on and off though summer (when I graduate), and then should pick up a bit.

    We’ve just agreed to put out a record in March that I’m excited about.  It deserves its own post, to follow.

    Thanks to all who are listening to and talking with me about …Boots!  -h

    h

  • Great Scott

    The first thing to know is that You Have To Wear The Boots was made to enjoy without knowing any of what I’m about to write.  I want it to stand on its own, counting the lyric sheet as part of the record, and I think it pretty much does.  OK.

    Then, (you’ve probably figured this out) I have to confess I wrote another record with a story.  Five short stories about cowboys, revenge, corruption, outlaws, and love, intertwined with each other and set in the city of Dodge in a mythic Old West with some twists, like TV and weapons of mass destruction.  Beyond the basic parts for vocals, electric guitar, and bass, a different instrument colors each story.  (Very Amahl and the Night Visitors, eh?  Thanks, Mrs.s Pecka & Dudley!)

    • The Cowboy & Clara (flute, Clara sung by Cari Ann)
      • 2. Easy Kill
      • 7. A Cracked Piece of Sky
      • 9. A Come-On
      • 11. Jenny Was A Friend of Mine
      • 13. Set You Ablaze
    • Gramp (drums)
      • 1. Storm & Stake
      • 6. Have We Forgot The Code Of The West?
      • 10. goddamn
      • 15. Ballad of the Ends of Our Ropes
    • The Farmer & Mae (acoustic guitar, Mae sung by Mary)
      • 5. Into the Fire
      • 14. Harvest Moon
    • The Knight & The Knight’s Love (organ, The Knight sung by Tara)
      • 3. Iron Horse
      • 12. Johnny Got His Gun
    • The Barman & The Teacher (synthesizer, The Teacher sung by Doug)
      • 4. August Wind
      • 8. It Was You, Kid
      • 16. Pushing Over the Continental Divide

    Some listeners are already saying they like to focus in on specific stories rather than hear the whole album at once, and that’s great; we wanted it to work that way, to the point that you could even think of it as five little EPs/singles.  Cory talked a little about releasing it that way, but as we got on toward 2011 I wanted to have it all out before the end of the year.

    Another way of breaking it up is by acts I, II, and III, as listed in the lyrics.  Act I is just the first song in each story, Act III is the last, and Act II are all the middle songs for the three stories that have them.

    If it sounds intricately planned, that’s just hindsight.  I wrote the first pieces of music that eventually became …Boots back around 2003.  These included all of “Set You Ablaze,” the main verse riff of “It Was You, Kid,” (working title; Campfire Robots) the music to “Johnny Got His Gun,” and the chorus music, lyrics, and title to “Ballad of the Ends of Our Ropes.”  They were just ideas and sketches, unattached to any particular album, though I had a vague sense that they hung together.

    Then, they sat in my notebook of works-in-progress for a long time.

    I’ve lost track of how we came around to working on them again.  It wasn’t intentional.  I may have written a couple new songs and realized they fit with those old ideas, or maybe finished off some of the sketches and felt my muse moving that direction.  I think six or eight songs were done before the main concept – several short stories, Old West setting – really became clear.  From there it grew; several more songs written specifically for …Boots to expand the stories (“August Wind,” “Harvest Moon,” “Pushing Over the Continental Divide”).  Somewhere in there we also re-purposed songs from others sources; “A Come-On” from Don’t Let Them Take Us ALIVE, “Have We Forgot The Code of the West?” from It’s A Trap (where it appeared as “David S. Addington and Your Democracy”), “Jenny…” from The Killers, and “Into the Fire” and “Easy Kill” from Cory’s The Silent Woods.

    I remember the night I came up with the re-imagined “A Come-On.”  I was just messing around with the guitar, and the G / G minor figure (heard in the introduction, and again later).  Played it for about a half hour straight, afraid I would forget it, because I was headed out to hang out up at Nick’s.  I was driving through Raytown, 20 minutes late, trying to keep it in my mind.

    Cory and I both remember the first time I played “Storm & Stake” for him, and told him I had another Sally M/S Ride record to work on.  It was at his old old house in Lincoln, probably earlier the night we played the Zoo Bar (which would have been 26 January 2006).  It really hit us both hard; him hearing it, and me with the ears and heightened stakes I get the first time I play a new song for anyone else.

    “Storm & Stake” is adapted from a true story in my family; Grandma really did hold down the center pole of the tent one night during a storm in South Dakota.  Grandad was an electrician, and they were out on a job, everyone’s families living in tents.

    Cory wrote the melody to “Pushing Over the Continental Divide” on my folks’ front porch.  I must have been home for a visit during the summer or something, and I was stuck on the song; liked the simple music, couldn’t figure out what to do vocally.  I showed the idea to him, and out popped the melody.  (That’s how “Coast and Plans” went, too.)

    “Johnny Got His Gun” has no relationship to the film of the same name (which sounds terrifying), which I just learned about this past week.  It seems likely I heard the title somewhere and hung on to it subconsciously, re-using it for our outlaw Johnny and his WMD.

    After an initial attempt to record …Boots prior to Mexico, I put down my base tracks live, playing and singing at the same time, in late June and early July 2007.  Had to get felt guitar picks to keep pick noise down in the vocal mic, and put my amp in the closet; I crouched on my kitchen step and played and played.  I wanted a lo-fi sound, so I bought the cheapest 4-track tape recorder I could find, and ran the vocals and guitars through that.  (That’s the hiss you may notice at the ends of tracks, if you listen to the record on headphones or a good stereo.)

    A lot of other music has been happening since then; Five Star Crush, There is Something and not nothing, the Band Formerly Known As Fifty Bears In A Fight And/Or Exploder Mode, MFR releases, etc.

    Cory did his songs at my current place, so that’s November 2008 or later.  Not long after, I overdubbed bass (thanks, Jill!) as the Cowboy & Clara’s instrument, but I liked the sound so much I wanted it on everything, and realized I could get Tim involved on flute.  Perfect.  (See how it wasn’t planned?)

    Vocals have been overdubbed bit by bit, too, maybe starting with Bear’s in summer 2009.  Oh, nope; B’s were first, I think.  And I had to go back and re-record a verse in “It Was You, Kid,” after we realized that Doug was perfect for The Teacher and we absolutely had to have him on the album.

    (For clarity’s sake, Cory and I each sing several characters; we take the lead vocals in the song no matter which character is singing, and the other voices come in with quotes or company singing.)

    We did two things with the vocal parts in terms of technique and process to support their role in the stories.  First, each singer wrote or improvised their harmonies against the main melody only, never  hearing the other harmonies.  This served several roles: singers brought their own ideas and emotions to the record, I didn’t have to try writing complex 4- and 5-part harmonies for the first time, it gave it a kind of live and dangerous feel that supported the whole campfire vibe.

    Then, for the quotes – when a character speaks in a song that’s being sung primarily by someone else – I used a mixing technique called sidechain compression.  It works like this; a lead vocal is going along, like the Cowboy’s “One million drops of water form to make a stream…” in “Easy Kill,” and when the second character enters (Clara’s “Oh, you wouldn’t have known it…”), that sound compresses the lead vocal, making it softer in the mix and creating the effect of the second voice taking over the song from the first.  When the second voice finishes, the lead voice pops right back to the front of the mix, where it was before the quote.  The process is automatic and dynamically related to the voices themselves and their volumes.  The intended effect is aural quotation marks, different than just one voice, then two voices, then one again, and I think it works.

    I hesitate to say much about the narrative; the story is in the lyrics and I don’t want explanation to get in the way of that, and the one-line introductions on the lyric sheet give the necessary context.  It’s three love stories, one comic book adventure as seen though the eyes of The Knight’s Love, and Gramp’s story of political and social awakening, disillusionment, and whatever happens next.  A lot of things end badly, but not quite everything.  I didn’t have any larger purpose in writing the stories as I did, and that’s where some of their hold on me comes from.  The characters are, emotionally, pretty real to me.  I’m sure we could look at each story as a sort of stylized reflection on something going on in my life during the writing and the characters as blown-up aspects of my psyche, as we could with almost anything people create, including your own listening experience to the extent that …Boots rings true to you.  Which is, of course, the idea; seeing if we can find something new or deeper to share through the music.  You need your own space to experience the record in if that has a chance of happening, and I don’t want to crowd you out with commentary on the plot.

    I can’t say enough how proud I am to have my family and friends on this record.  I’ll love it as long as I live for their parts in it.

    h

  • YOU HAVE TO WEAR THE BOOTS | M/S Ride

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    h

  • FURIOUS INSTANCE / Mr. Furious Records

    DOWNLOAD ALL via .zip from archive.org

    85- Khan’s Awesome Song – Khan! The Musical, 2010 December 26
    86- Blame It On The Beer – Arturo Got The Shaft, 2009 January 31
    87- Cooky – M/S Ride, 2008 October 18
    88- Lost – M/S Ride, 2008 October 18
    89- Buttons on a Track Girl’s Boy Shorts – Robot, Creep Closer! from “She Beeps,” 2006 August 12
    90- Disagree (live on KDNE) – Iris Avenue, 2006 May 5
    91- Coast & Plains – echoes, from the “Tonight the Lone Wolf Rides… Alone” sessions, 2006 March 29
    92- Pretending To Break Strings – Cory Kibler from the “We Have Uh-Oh” sessions, 2006 March 29
    93- Tweaky (live) – M/S Ride, 2006 January 2
    94- Consticulated Juncture – Iris Avenue, 2005 October 30
    95- Try Harder Or Not At All – Cory Kibler, 2005 July 20
    96- There’s Something More To Be Said – Cory Kibler, 2005 July 20
    97- I Don’t Even Know How Right This Sounds (live) – echoes, 2005 April 25
    98- Was I In Bon Jovi For A Second There? – howie&scott from “b.sides” EP, 2005 March 19
    99- Lunch By Yourself – Gilby, 2005 February 7

    (Formerly: 88- Built For It – The Sleepover from “When Bands Have Attractive And/Or Cool-Looking Members, People Care More Than They Would Otherwise, All Things Being Equal” EP, 2008 May 3)

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  • Best Records We Heard In 2010

    20. The Suburbs – Arcade Fire – The highs are so high – “We Used To Wait,” “City With No Children,” and the unstoppable “Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)” – it doesn’t matter that the album as a whole sprawls like its subject.  What could have been a predictable polemic on the inner and outer rings many of us occupy is, instead, a diverse set of snapshots that resist quick judgments.  Arcade Fire is now three-for-three, and practically indie rock perennials at this point; let’s not under-appreciate them (as that other band you can set your watch by, Spoon, seems to have been this year).

    19. This Is Happening – LCD Soundsystem – If James Murphy & Co. end their run here as reported, it caps an impeccable 3-album streak. The bangers (“Dance Yrself Clean,” “One Touch,” “Home”) groove as hard as anything in their catalog. LCD Soundsystem’s penchant for breaking the fourth wall also reaches its peak here; from the breezily self-referential “Daft Punk Is Playing At My House,” we’ve come all the way to “You Wanted A Hit,” where self-awareness upstages the song itself.  In a few songs like that, Murphy’s lyrics have become the main course instead of a spice, and they aren’t enough to hang the weight of a whole track on, keeping this record out of my top 5. -h

    18. Age of Adz – Sufjan Stevens – I don’t understand this record yet. It’s overwhelming, it’s occasionally frustrating, and it sweeps me off to some other headspace. Seems like I’m always doing something weird when I decide to listen to it, or maybe it’s that it makes whatever I’m doing feel a bit weird. I would say it’s one of those that everyone should hear once, exceptonce simply can’t do right by it. “Adz’s” spot on the list is because, whatever else it is or becomes for me, it’s a capital-A musical Accomplishment. -h

    17. History of Forgotten Things – Jed Whedon & the Willing – I can’t add much to my MR|review, except that it continues to hold a place in my regular rotation. -h

    16. Maximum Balloon – Maximum Balloon – Critical consensus was that Dave Sitek’s solo-plus-guest-vocalists work as Maximum Balloon was TV on the Radio Lite. I think that reflects a shallow listen; this album is poppier and cleaner than his full-time band, but equally creative and an outstanding listen.  Opener “Groove Me,” in particular, has been in heavy rotation for me, but Maximum Balloon is one sexy chunk of smart pop from top to bottom. -h

    15. Together – The New Pornographers – After the exuberance of “Electric Version,” which I picked up earlier this year, “Together” was a grower, but after living with it for a few months it has fully flowered as a complex, but still immediate, pop record. -h

    14. Body Talk – Robyn – Along with the rest of the hipster nation, I nominate Robyn for the place in mass culture currently occupied by half a hundred interchangable electro-pop songstresses. This record can be our Madonna, our U2, and our Michael Jackson all in one for 2011. -h

    13. Lisbon – The Walkmen – I’ve been a casual Walkmen fan until this year, but I’ve become an evangelist for this record.  Perfectly sparse, hauntingly melodic, it’s a union of craft and small moments writ with wide emotion that was unequaled in 2010. -h

    12. Astral Weeks – Van Morrison – Like I’m going to say about another record coming up, this one has been reviewed almost to death.  But I always liked Van Morrison, and figured I should pick up the album he made that everyone considers his 100% essential classic can’t-live-without record.

    I am not sure what I expected; maybe I thought it would be racked with songs like “Domino” or “Brown Eyed Girl.” But this record isn’t really a pop record at all, almost. It’s more of a long jam session with lots of improvisation and mournful melodies. It’s a gorgeous record, and all the tracks seem to sort of blend in together with each other. But it’s inspiring, and it’s heartbreaking, and more than anything, it shows off what an absolutely amazing vocalist and lyricist Van Morrison is/was. I still can’t quite get over how unique his voice sounds on this meandering soul-folk record, especially on songs like “Madame George,” which I think is my favorite.

    I am not sure if this record is as essential as everyone says it is, because I’m not sure if everyone would (or should) like it. But I think I get it. -Cory

    11. Survival Story – Flobots – Cory’s been on me about Flobots for a while (full disclosure; he knows and hangs out with some band members semi-regularly), but after seeing them –kill– at a free all-ages warm-up show in KC this year, I got it.  It took a room full of kids responding to this band and vice versa in a way that is honest, precious, and too rare, but I got it.  “Survival Story” plays to Flobots’ strengths: aggressive live-band hip-hop jams, progressive rhymes, passion born of conviction coupled with openness to others and our ideas, and an intangible sort of “we’re all in this together” community spirit.  A couple standout tracks, “If I” and “Whip$ and Chain$,” push in a soul-influenced direction that I hope they’ll continue to explore.  It’s not a perfect record; I always skip “Superhero,” and the hook on “Good Soldier” has two extraneous notes (“…again”) that drive me nuts.  But consider this an invitation; see them before you form an opinion, and see if they don’t draw you in.  -h

    10. What We Lose In The Fire We Gain In The Flood – Mynabirds –  The Mynabirds are an Omaha band by way of DC, and the main songwriter, Laura Burhenn, writes songs that are at once totally new and interesting and original but also instantly nostalgic. This record’s production is fucking rad and perfect for this kind of music; you want to say you’ve heard these songs before, because the tactics used on this record (the guitar sounds, the bled-together-sounding soul techniques, the soulful vocals, the falsetto background vocals) are familiar, but they aren’t really used anymore. On top of that, she’s written a bunch of amazingly unique songs that, if recorded differently, could have sounded like a hundred other indie releases this year.

    This record works perfectly because it’s an epic blend of honest-to-goodness genuine soul music and lovely pop music. “L.A. Rain” sort of sounds like a song that’s been in played in movies and at wedding receptions for 40 years, and could easily be amongst classic soul songs without any disruption. I think the challenge for her will be to switch it up on the record to keep her aesthetic fresh. I’m thinking she could make a big riff-record. Possibly with dance-synths. And 100 backup dancers on each song (you can really hear the dancing). -Cory

    9. High Violet – The National – Reviews of High Violet tended to stress its continuity with The National’s previous records, “Alligator” and “Boxer,” but I heard it as a subtle, but giant, leap ahead. Those records are fantastic indie rock music. The first time I heard “High Violet,” it sounded like just music, unbounded by genre or instrumentation or history. It was raw and pure, and as each song built and ended I didn’t know what I would hear next.  Even though I try not to be too jaded in general, exhilaration is a rare emotion for me to have with a record.  I found it here.  -h

    8. Everything In Between – No Age – I kind of thought No Age would gradually get poppier and a little tighter and more produced, since that’s just sort of what bands do, especially as they have more access to gear and studios and engineers and stuff. Plus I think No Age has a third member now, helping them flesh shit out.

    What I was pleasantly surprised at was how well it suits them; I always figured that a big part of their appeal for me was the fact that their albums sounded like live recordings, or even one-mic basement recordings. I thought better production make them lose some of their charm. But with this record, I feel like they’ve found the perfect balance between their brand of fuzz-weirdo-punk and their minimal recording aesthetic.

    Everything I liked about their music before is still there (the really weird and beautiful effects; the really weird and beautiful vocals; the really weird and beautiful guitar solos and drum sounds); they’ve just clarified it a bit for us. I think if they kept getting less scuzzy an more glossy, they might eventually become less exciting, but I could also see them somehow having a hit single that played on “True Blood” or some shit. They could be the band that shocks/pleases their old fans while completely blowing the minds of their new ones. They could be the band that brings this kind of music into the mainstream arena. I’d be just fine with that. -Cory

    7. My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy / G.O.O.D. Fridays – Kanye West – Everyone has already said just about everything one could possibly say about this record; it was highly anticipated for artistic and sociological reasons (this is Kanye’s return to hip-hop from “808s and Heartbreaks;” this is first record since his total meltdown; his personal tragedies; etc.). Everyone was waiting to see if his arrogance and creative genius would continue to produce instant-classic albums. If there ever was a record whose reception was based on and wholly intermingled with everyone’s expectations of it, I think this is it.

    Despite everyone’s astute observation that this album is really weird and creative and fun and lyrically schizophrenic, and despite that fact that I DO enjoy the record quite a bit, I feel like the most honest thing I can say about it is that it’s a really, really good hip-hop record. A lot of critics are calling this the most important record ever, giving it a 156% out of 100%, and letting the record sleep with their girlfriend. What I think they’re missing is that this wasn’t even the best hip-hop record to come out this year. Howie’s gonna cover this, but I think Big Boi, for example, knocked it out of the park even harder and with less flaws.

    Some of the weird shit on Kanye’s record that everyone is praising, I think comes across as cheesy/sloppy. I don’t know who sings the “Oh oh oh”s on the first track, but it’s too much: it sounds like someone’s doing a cartoon voice. Nicki Minaj has a great verse on “Monster,” but she (even more so than Lady GaGa) seems to epitomize the “Being weird is really big right now so I am going to be really weird all the time and see how far that gets me” approach. And she’s obviously a good rapper; I am not sure why she has to go all over the place with her vocal affectations. And can I say that I’m not a big fan of fake British accents?

    Finally, for the list of guest stars Kanye’s got on this record, I think they’re underutilized. I think he could have made a better record by making the songs shorter and taking out the vocorder solos (????) and letting his buddies shine a little more. That all being said, it’s on this list for a reason. Kanye West is one of the best rappers/producers out there, and this album is just as fun to listen to as Graduation or Late Registration; I think selfishly, I just want him to dial it back a little bit and make another College Dropout.  -Cory

    A “really, really good hip-hop record” and an “instant classic” are the last things I’d call “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” which suggests a reason for all the ink spilled over it; it’s a Rorschach test.  Between “…Fantasy” and the free releases on the “G.O.O.D. Fridays” series, Kanye’s had as productive a year as anyone else in the game, and it’s the struggle to grasp his music in 2010, rather than its ultimate cultural status or aesthetic quality, that earns it a place on my list.  No one has challenged me more this year, precisely because I’m not sure yet whether this album is at all classic or really good.

    Kanye’s ego gets most of the attention, but it’s his uninhibited expression of id that raise questions for me.  Do I identify with this?  If so, what does that mean?  If not, does it suggest I’m afraid of something in myself it’s hard to see expressed?  This has always been a part of Kanye’s music, but it’s never been this raw, with fewer of those classic hip-hop signifiers running interference, allowing me to enjoy records like “Late Registration” without being too disquieted.  Together, “…Fantasy” and “…Fridays” are an amazing body of work by a man who is both pop star and artist, and I’ll be wrestling with it long after the year-end lists and blogs have moved on. -h

    6. Sir Lucious Left Foot… The Son of Chico Dusty – Big Boi – This one caught me by surprise; I expected a solid record, but I hadn’t bargained for the schizo-bounce, the neutron star-density of the rhymes, or the out-sized hooks. Whether you kick back, lace up, or buckle in, enjoy. -h

    5. Transference – Spoon – Simultaneously deconstructing their indie-iconic sound and hitting all their marks on “Transference,” Spoon make it seem easy.  But it isn’t. -h

    4. The Fame – Lady GaGa – As opposed to my #2 pick this year, this record is immaculate pop music produced with a top-40 gloss in mind. What sets Lady GaGa’s record apart from a ton of other big pop acts is that she clearly cares a LOT about ingenuity and progress.

    I think a lot of people like her because her music sounds like the other really fun dance music that’s out, and they’re just hearing the big beats and wacky synths. That’s a big part of why I like her music, but I also hear immensely well-written songs! I feel like when/if these songs are performed acoustically, the beauty and the originality is still there; it’s not just a mediocre album dressed up with party beats and autotuned vocals; it’s 10 amazing pop songs that also happen to be fun as shit to listen to and perfect for pants-off-dance-offs.

    Part of me gets a little peeved when she’s obviously just being weird for the sake of being weird. I feel like that detracts from her songwriting sometimes, as if she’s trying to make up for a lack of talent. But when I hear songs like “Paparazzi” and “Starstruck,” I am impressed every time with her sense of melody and transition. And my pants are usually danced all the way off.   -Cory

    3. How I Got Over – The Roots – The increasingly desperate and hungry emotional arc from “Game Theory” (2006) and “Rising Down” (2008) reaches the breaking point on “Now or Never,” almost midway through this record.  The next song, “How I Got Over,” points ways forward both for the implicit narrative of the albums, and for The Roots themselves, as they write their way out of the dark corner they’d painted themselves into.  The rest of the album sounds like a band of kids exploring sound and following whatever catches their ears, but with the experience and chops of true pros. I love this record on its own terms, but the way the band wrote themselves out of the situation they were in prior to it makes it amazing. -h

    2. Astrocoast – Surfer Blood – It was awesome when Pitchfork still had their agreement with InSound: if you read a review of an album or a track and you thought it sounded cool, you could just scroll to the right and click “play,” and listen to it as much as you wanted. I remember reading the review for this record and thinking that I would love it, solely based off of the review. It said something like, “This is a great guitar album like Weezer’s The Blue Album,” and I figured if it was anything like that record, I’d probably be pretty stoked.

    When I clicked “play” and heard the first few bars of “Floating Vibes,” it was love at first peep. I understand why people compare this band to Weezer and Pavement: they play riff-driven rock music with big melodies and guitar solos (where have they gone, anyhow?). On paper, I supposed they’re very similar. But things that drew me in were more universal, and less specific to a small group of bands.

    Simply, the melodies are amazing. They’re the type of melodies you can instantly sing along to, but that aren’t contrived or predictable or obvious. This is my favorite type of melody, and this is my favorite part of listening to music. Also, the production was another huge factor. They self-recorded this record as bands are often wont to do, and they caught the absolute perfect mix of scuzz, reverb, low-end, lo-fi surf garage-pop-rock awesomeness. More and more, I find myself most impressed with pop music that’s produced as if it weren’t pop music at all. Surfer Blood embodies that sentiment for me. They’re not pop-punk; they’re punk-pop.  -Cory

    1. Contra – Vampire Weekend – Cory suggested I write about our top pick, since I was a late convert to the charms of 2008’s self-titled record.  The band doubled down on their aesthetic this year, turning the “Catchy melody,” “Weirdo sound,” and “Universal emotion via detailed snapshots” knobs each up a few notches.

    What excites me most about Vampire Weekend is that these guys seem to have a rock-solid sense of themselves as a group.  “Contra” is an album made by men who are following their hearts and ears, regardless of what anyone is saying or expects or thinks they should do.  Not only has that made for our top record of the year, it’s a hopeful sign that they may have more in store for us.

    Old school – I’ve been building my Beatles and Stones LPs up over the past two years, really, so 2010 I’ll designate the Year of David.  Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold The World,” “The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars,” “Aladdin Sane,” and “Low” all made their way into my life this year, and I’m grateful to the artist, his band members over the years, and whatever gods of used vinyl have been smiling on me.  These should be on the list next to Cory’s “Astral Weeks,” but I just couldn’t find the right place; it felt like apples and oranges.  -h

    Best Records We Heard In 2009 | 2008 | 2007

    Best Music Drew Heard In 2009

    h

  • Communion Soup

    Even though I substitute black beans for the original recipe’s “lean beef stew meat (1 lb.)” in this soup, I keep the name because it’s part of this soup’s story. Communion soup comes from the ladies at the Goehner, NE United Church of Christ (1), where the Ghana Partnership Committee I’ve been a part of has met, and it’s how they use up the leftover communion wine. Smart. And delicious.

    As with any soup, you can vary the ratios to taste.

    [] 2 T extra virgin olive oil
    [] 2 medium or large red onions, chopped
    [] 8 cloves fresh or 1 T jarred minced garlic
    [] veg broth (I use water as-needed and 2 cubes)
    [] 2 cans corn
    [] 2-3 cans black beans, rinsed & drained
    [] 1 pkg. (12 oz.) white mushrooms, cleaned & sliced
    [] 1 jar (15 1/2 oz.) spaghetti sauce
    [] 1 cup red wine (or a little more… one for me, one for the soup)
    [] salt to taste (or seasoned salt, such as Krazy Jane’s) (1 tsp.)
    [] black pepper to taste (1 tsp.)
    [] sugar to taste (1 tsp.)
    [] soy sauce to taste (2 T)
    [] fresh or dried parsley to taste (1 tsp. fresh, 1/2 tsp. dried)
    [] nutmeg to taste (1/4 tsp.)
    [] oregano to taste (1/2 tsp.)

    Heat 2 T extra virgin olive oil in the bottom of your BAP (2) over medium heat. Add the onion; sautee. (I like to leave a little crunch in them.) When the onion is almost done, clear a hot spot in the bottom of the pan by pushing the onion to the edge, and add the garlic; sautee for a minute
    or two, until fragrant.

    Add corn, beans, spaghetti sauce, wine, veg broth (as much liquid as you like, when the other ingredients are in) and spices (everything but the mushrooms) (3). Heat through and simmer for at least 10 minutes; when you’re almost ready to eat, add mushrooms and let them cook for a few minutes; serve. This soup is great to pair with bread & cheese.

    (1) Who got it from Joan Moss at Rowan Church, who got it from the Iowa State Fair, where Betty Dreyer of Indianola won first place in a slow cooker contest with it as “Beef & Corn Soup.”

    (2) Big Ass Pot.

    (3) Careful adding the first liquid to the hot pot. If you’re worried, you can turn of the heat for a bit before adding those ingredients.

    h

  • Non-specific positive wishes for your winter non-denominational snow time

    • Finished mixing/mastering the original cast soundtrack recording for “Khan! The Musical” the other night, so that’s off my list.  We’ll be featuring one tune here as part of Furious Instance right after Dec. 25.
    • You Have To Wear The Boots – I’m still aiming for a 2010 release.
    • Am planning to release the first tracks from [band name officially TBD, formerly Fifty Bears in a Fight / Exploder Mode] before the spring semester starts.  We have six tracks basically done, and seven more in various stages of vocal recording / mixing.  I want to finish vocals on those before the semester, too.
    • Cory and I will have our Best We Heard in 2010 list up next week, to be followed at some point by Drew’s anti-list.  I hope you’re looking forward to that as much as I am.
    • Love.
    h