Day 161: Young The Giant – Young The Giant

8 Aug

My Body

I’ve got a severe case of post-Lolla depression, so I’m trying to keep the fest alive for as long as possible.  For that reason, we have yet another post about a band that played Lollapalooza 2011.

The different thing about this entry, though, is that I neither planned on seeing this band, nor actually saw this band perform at the fest.

Let’s flash back to Day 1 of Lollapalooza, which feels like it was both a million years ago, as well as a couple of hours ago.  My sister and I were walking away from the Google+ stage after Tennis’ set (which was pretty good), towards the BMI stage for some Electric Touch beauty.  On that fateful walk, I heard something beautiful—it was just some standard indie rock, but I was really digging it for some reason.  I pulled out my schedule, and discovered that the glorious sound I was hearing was coming from a band named Young The Giant.  I had to give them a listen.

After listening to this record, my initial love for the band (or the 30 seconds of their performance that I heard) has faded a bit.  Young The Giant has its moments, there’s no denying that, but as a whole, the record comes off as a long, poor Grizzly Bear imitation.  The band’s cause is not helped by the fact that I cannot stand Grizzly Bear.

At 50 minutes long, I started asking myself “why is this still going?”  Standard indie rock can only keep me interested for so long, and tons of repetition is never a good thing.

Maybe I need to see this band live to really appreciate their music; live shows can really turn my opinion of a group around.  Let’s just say, I now consider myself a fan of Best Coast.

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Day 160: Best Coast – Crazy For You

7 Aug

Boyfriend

Yeah, I’ll probably end up seeing Best Coast at Lollapalooza too.  Haters, continue your hating.

So somehow, I missed this record last year.  I know, that’s pretty hard to believe—someone who read Hipster Runoff as much as I did never got around to listening to Best Coast.  Carles was bashing Bethany Cosetino (the band’s lead singer) pretty much every day back then (and he probably continues to do so today; he doesn’t have all that much to blog about).  I don’t know why I didn’t check out the record.

Ah well, it doesn’t even matter.  The record isn’t that good.  It’s catchy at points, but ultimately, Bethany is just too annoying to justify giving it another listen.  She spends pretty much its entire 32 minutes whining about boys—that’s the last thing that I want out of my surf pop.

Seriously, when she’s not complaining about her relationships, she’s complaining about the fact that she’s not in a relationship.  I mean, three or four tracks like this, I can handle—but an entire record? That’s a little much, Beth.  Seriously, you’re a grown ass woman!  You don’t need to spend so much time worrying about dudes! You do you, don’t worry about anyone else.  At the very least, don’t bore me with every single detail about your love life.

I mean, with some decent lyrics, this record could be decent.  It’s following the new surf pop revival craze, something that I can definitely get behind.  It’s just that the lyrics have nothing to do with surfing.

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Day 159: Friendly Fires – Friendly Fires

6 Aug

Jump In The Pool

Brit-pop. Lollapalooza’s biggest standby.  Seriously, every year, it feels like England’s new big things take up half of the lineup.  Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not necessarily complaining—Kaiser Chiefs in 2009 may perhaps be the most fun that I’ve ever had at a concert.  Do we need so much of it, though?

Honestly, I don’t know how I feel about this takeover. It’s late, I’m a little cranky, and it’s very possible that I’m just looking for something to complain about.  So I’m going to stop right here, and switch it over to a discussion of Friendly Fires’ self-titled debut record.

What is it? Standard brit-pop.  Is that a bad thing? Well, that’s up to you.  Personally, I’m always up for a little low-substance music.  Sure, I prefer stuff with a little more meaning than you’ll get out of this record, but hey, I’ll admit that it’s pretty fun to listen to.

Thing is, these guys put on a pretty good show too.  They played before Kaiser Chiefs in ’09, and I’ll be seeing them under similar circumstances this year.  For some reason, they’ve been placed right before Death From Above 1979…Kaiser Chiefs, I understand.  Angry, screamy, hate-rock, on the other hand…ehh.

No, Friendly Fires doesn’t really bring anything new to the table.  No, this record isn’t all that creative or meaningful.  It’s catchy as hell, though, and perfectly suited for a mid-afternoon slot on a main stage at a massive festival.  I’m looking to have fun at Lollapalooza, after all, and I think seeing a Friendly Fires show will definitely help me accomplish that goal.  I also can’t wait to see the reaction from the people waiting for Death From Above…

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Day 158: The Naked and Famous – Passive Me, Agressive You

5 Aug

Punching In A Dream

I’m seeing these guys open for Crystal Castles at a Lollapalooza “after-show” that is really a pre-show—this concert goes down on Thursday, and Lolla starts on Friday.  None of that really matters, though.  Lollapalooza will be in full force by the time you get around to reading this.  Yeah, I’m trying to get a little ahead for the fest, don’t hate.

Anyway, here’s another band that I cannot escape seeing.  This time, though, I think it’s all going to work out for the best.  Or, I guess, will have worked out for the best by the time you read this.

This band has received a lot of praise for having their own sound…I wouldn’t call The Naked and Famous’ sound “unique,” not by any means.  This band sounds like a pure hybrid of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and The xx.  I’m not saying that’s a bad thing—both of those bands are great—but I don’t think merging two buzz bands counts as originality.

I’m being too negative, though—this really is an interesting combination.  The low-key, bass heavy beats of The xx, the powerful synth rips of Pains, as well as the gooey melodramatic lyrics of both bands come together into something that does sound pretty cool.

So, what it comes down to here: originality isn’t all that important.  Sometimes, a band can create something of their own by borrowing pretty liberally from other groups already out there. Sometimes, it can even sound pretty good.  Passive Me, Aggressive You won’t be my record of the year, but hey, I could be listening to worse stuff and seeing worse bands.

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Day 157: Girl Talk – Feed The Animals

4 Aug

Play Your Part, Pt. 1

Of all of the pre-Lolla research records that I’m listening to, this is the least necessary.  I mean, it’s Girl Talk.  Do you really need to be all that familiar with Mr. Gillis’ work in order to enjoy one of his shows?  I think the answer to that has gotta be no.  From the concert footage that I’ve seen, Girl Talk shows are huge dance parties as opposed to sing-a-longs.

I’ll admit, I’ve been awestruck by Girl Talk’s All Day ever since I listened to it back in May.  I wanted some more, which is exactly what I got out of Feed The Animals.

It’s always annoying when I listen to an artist’s work in any order other than chronological.  I want to write things like “Girl Talk is still bringing it,” but that wouldn’t make any sense, considering that All Day came out after Feed the Animals.  I guess I’ll have to settle on something else.  Girl Talk was bringing it even way back in 2008.

Honestly, unless you don’t have a soul, there’s nothing not to enjoy about this record.  Greg Gillis has some magical ears, and an insane capability for matching up tracks that you or I would never think would work together.   With two of his records under my belt now, I’m beginning to notice a few of his recurring tricks—he opens a lot of his long, beat-heavy hip-hop sections with intense guitar blasts from various 70s cheese-rock groups.  He’ll also find a way to work in that opening beat from Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up—something that makes those who have spent too much of their lives on the internet cringe every single time.  There should also be a limit on Daft Punk samples, in my opinion—I think I counted four in this record.

I’m being nit-picky, though.  This is another amazing mashup record, and I’m definitely psyched about the Girl Talk set at Lolla.  Even if it means venturing over to the DJ stage.

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Day 156: Fences – Fences

3 Aug

Girls With Accents

So yeah.  The great Lolla scramble is going to keep on rollin’.  Sorry about that.

This is a band that I should have checked out a long time ago.  Not because they’re good or anything, believe me.  I will be seeing them, though—they’re opening for Titus Andronicus at a Saturday night Lolla after-show.  Let’s just say, I no longer care all that much about getting to this show on time.

All we need to do here is look at both the band and record’s name.  Fences.  Yeah.  Real exciting.  It calls to mind the work of a developing photographer.  See, you go through this “artsy” stage when you first pick up a camera, and try and make pictures of boring things (fences) not so boring.  The operative word there is try.  Believe me, it can be done, but not with your autofocus Coolpix set on black and white.  I went through this stage, and I have way too many embarrassing fence shots.  It’s even worse, because they’re on film…not only was I terrible at photography; I was pretentious as shit.

Anyway, allegories aside, Fences is boring, generic, and boring.  Good thing it’s only half an hour, because I was getting close to falling asleep half way through.

It’s essentially acoustic guitar music, with a little bit of back-up instrumentation.  That type of music is only good if there are some kick ass lyrics being sung.  “I was born in the same town as you / Hell, I even think we have the same tattoos / My mother hates it when I smile / And she sees you coming through me / Like a sunshine through thin glass.”  I’m not even gonna touch that.

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Day 155: Little Feat – Dixie Chicken

2 Aug

Fool Yourself

And it’s Dad-Rock Tuesday once again.  Oh joy.  This week, my father picked Little Feat’s 1973 release, Dixie Chicken.

Why did he do this, you may ask?  That’s a good question.  I was a little confused at first as well.  Another redneck band?  Seriously?  Do you want me to stomp on something that you hold close to your heart?  Again?  Apparently.

Ah, but my father is smarter than that.  He turned the tables on me, and picked a redneck record that is actually listenable, something that I had previously believed to be impossible.

Hold up, I just saw a picture of this band.  They have two black guys.  It’s comforting to know that I am enjoying music made by a band that probably doesn’t have any Confederate flag memorabilia floating around.

But, for serious, this band is much better than Lynyrd Skynyrd for a number of reasons.  I should probably stop with the Skynyrd comparisons, though…it only hurts a band’s name to be placed next to the epitome of awful like that.

So, starting over.  Believe it or not, Dixie Chicken was kind of refreshing to listen to!  I know, this is strange to hear about a record that came out more than 30 years ago, but hear me out.  This album bends genres, combining country, rock, and even R&B into a sound that I have never heard before.  I guess the country kind of stood out to me at first, which was the cause of that unspeakable comparison.  Looking deeper, though, this is a very interesting record, and about the last thing that I was expecting.

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Day 154: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – It’s a Corporate World

1 Aug

 

Nothing But Our Love

Lollapalooza is approaching.  This Friday, I will essentially move in to downtown Chicago’s Grant Park for three days.  How I’m going to keep this blog going, I don’t know.  That’ll be interesting.

Anyway, due to various reasons, I find myself thoroughly unprepared for this year’s fest.  I spent three crucial planning weeks completely out of the loop, and this blog doesn’t help my cause either.  Most of my music listening now revolves around Swole Ear, which has hindered my usual obsessive Lolla research.

Let’s just say, I’m scrambling.

So for the next few days, I hope you don’t mind if I use this blog as a way to get ready.  I’ll be checking out some artists that will be playing at the fest, mostly groups that I’ve been meaning to get around to, and bands that will help fill some gaps in my schedule.   Let’s take Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr., for instance.

I’ve been thinking about seeing these guys ever since the lineup came out.  Awesome name + hipster hype + the fact that they play in full NASCAR getups = at least a glance from me.  The thing is, I had never heard any music by them prior to this.  Fortunately, It’s a Corporate World is a solid record.  Unfortunately, I now have to decide between these guys and The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

We have here a decent, fairly original indie rock/pop/electronic record.  It doesn’t slap me in the face with awesome, but I think it’ll work well at a festival.  A lot hinges on possible crowd reception, though.  DEJJ are playing the Google+ stage (also known as the Hipster Stage), versus Pains on the Sony Stage, which is much larger.

I think Dale’s bleeps and bloops will work better on the hipster crowd than Pains’ fringe-shoegaze-pop will on a crowd of assholes camping for Explosions in the Sky.  Decision made.

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Day 153: YACHT – See Mystery Lights

31 Jul

Psychic City

I was called out in the comment section of yesterday’s Foxy Shazam post.  Essentially, I was brutally attacked because of the double standards that I place on the music that I listen to.  I sometimes dislike music for having “perfect vocals,” while I’ll let some with this quality slide right past my critical eagle eyes.  What do I have to say to this, as well as to my dissenters, you may ask?

Haters gon hate.

Now, as for the reason that this blog exists: a seventeen-year-old wanted to do something with his love of music, and may have gotten himself in a bit over his head.  Not willing to back down, he types the first thing that comes into his head while listening to these records, with no regard for anything else that he’s ever written.

See, he’s willing to use stuff like this to take up half of a post.

Anyway.  YACHT.

Indie bands are (slowly) moving away from the guitar-dominated rock sound that they’ve had since lord knows when.  Some purists say nay to this movement, but I say bring it on.  Sure, (looking back on my initial dislike of LCD Soundsystem) I don’t always love this new type of music, but it takes a fairly special or well-done rock album these days for me not to be bored.

When this new music is good, it can be really interesting.  So far, we’ve got groups like tUnE-yArDs, Baths, and now YACHT.  All three of these acts would have sounded extremely out of place ten years ago in the garage rock dominated scene, but they’re finding themselves accepted today.

This record is completely electronic; even samples of recognizable instruments are fairly limited.  It’s got a unique sound, and it’s fairly hard to describe, so the blanket statement of “electronic” is going to have to work. Deal wit it.

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Day 152: Foxy Shazam – Foxy Shazam

30 Jul

Killin’ It

And we’re back.  I know, I know, you all have desperately missed the reliability and punctuality that you’ve come to love and expect from Swole Ear.  Well, I’ve returned from the wilderness that is Northfield, Minnesota, and am back in the Chi-ish.  Hopefully, Carleton College’s Summer Writing Program has worked some kind of miracle, and this blog will turn into something worth your time.

But probably not.  Anyway, here’s what I think about Foxy Shazam.

You know how sometimes, you can just tell that you’re going to love a record based on the first few seconds of the opening track?  Well, that’s not the case here.  This record opens with about 30 seconds of a couple of dogs barking.  Those woofs and barks slowly synchronize, and then melt away into a powerful, arena ready, mosh-tastic stream of over-the-top happiness.  I knew that I was going to love this record based on the first minute and a half.

You know me; I’m a sucker for catchy hooks, enthusiastic vocals, and an overall sense of happy.  That’s exactly what I got out of Foxy Shazam’s Foxy Shazam.  This record is relentless.  It pounds you over the head with rainbows and sunshine (if you ignore a lot of the lyrics) for all of its 43 minutes.  It’s pretty much screaming “YOU WILL LOVE ME” with a Heath Ledger Joker style grin on its face.  And guess what, you will love it, unless you’re devoid of a soul.

Sure, lots of the lyrics deal with breakups and the suckyness of life.  On the other hand, a good portion are about happiness and bright futures.  Ultimately, this record bleeds pure awesome, and if you don’t like it, I don’t like you.


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