May 19, 2004
Personally, I Find Acoustic Guitars Depressing
Posted by nerdling | May 19, 2004 02:02 PM
Three new songs from the Old 97s forthcoming album, Drag It Up, have been made available. The countdown to July 27th begins now.
"Satellite"
Real | Windows Media
"New Kid"
Real | Windows Media
"Won't Be Home"
Real | Windows Media
In other music-related news, Stephin Merritt, full of his characteristic curmudgeonly charm, has re-entered the world of music criticism with reviews in this week's NY Times. Below is an excerpt, featuring the only two albums he reviewed that I give a damn about; the first I purchased yesterday and enjoyed, while the second is on my list of upcoming purchases. And since this place is all about me, you'll just have to tolerate my abridgement.
MORRISSEY His new album, "You Are the Quarry" (Sanctuary), demonstrates more than ever that the best lyricist in rock, Morrissey, still surrounds himself with dull musicians incapable of properly filling out his introspective kitchen-sink dramas. Plodding generic rock 'n' roll accompanies "Where taxi drivers never stop talking, under slate-gray Victorian sky: Here you'll find despair and I." At this level of lyric artistry, these warmed-over arena rock backdrops are a waste. One longs to lock him up for a year with, say, the pop orchestra the High Llamas, so lyrics like "I've been dreaming of a time when to be English is not to be baneful, to be standing by the flag not feeling shameful, racist or martial" can be matched by equally thoughtful arrangements.
THE REAL TUESDAY WELD Pretentious enough to do a concept album based on the Glen Duncan novel "I, Lucifer," the Real Tuesday Weld (a k a Stephen Coates) is witty enough to carry it off and smart enough to hire Martyn Jacques of the Tiger Lillies to sing the sad parts. "I, Lucifer" (Six Degrees) genre-hops merrily between accordion ballads and dance floor fodder like the single "Bathtime in Clerkenwell," which will remind moviegoers of "The Triplets of Belleville" in its infectious evocation of 1920's cartoon music. No style or tempo lasts more than four minutes, making the record fun for actually listening to, without feeling one should really do the dishes now.
And in yet more music-related news, Brian Wilson still plans to release Smile, the infamous missing Beach Boys album. There's just one catch: he will not be, as previously promised, releasing the original material. He will, instead, be re-recording the album for release this fall.
A funny thing happened on the way to auction off a historical and literary treasure trove of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's things: the major opponent to the sale was recently found garroted to death.
