PS: The classic “NORAD tracks Santa” can be seen here: NORAD Santa Tracker (note that Iran is on the bad list… but the ISS was over Iran when Santa hit up that crew)

The article capitalizes on the tendency of popular songs to evolve from long and content-rich ballads to highly repetitive texts with little or no meaningful content.

[...]

“…our ancient ancestors invented the concept of refrain” to reduce the space complexity of songs, which becomes crucial when a large number of songs is to be committed to one’s memory.

[...]

Finally, progress during the twentieth century—stimulated by the fact that “the advent of modern drugs has led to demands for still less memory”—leads to the ultimate improvement: Arbitrarily long songs with space complexity O(1), e.g. for a song to be defined by the recurrence relation.

We’ve really taken the concept to heart in modern popular music haven’t we? See here for explanation and here for the original paper.

Cheers.

The painting is very somber, almost depressing. It depicts a man with very little definition walking away from the point of view of the painter. The color palate is very dark, as I remember. I would estimate that only 15% of the frame is taken up with the walking man and the rest by his surroundings on the street he is traveling down. This is how I remember the painting, though I never fully studied it and my memory could be very flawed. But, he’s definitely walking away from the point of view of the painter.

If I could remember who showed that painting to me (over 4 years ago now), I would just email him/her. My memory is not that good.

Cheers.

A month or so ago I was sitting around the Christmas tree at my home in Oregon with my parents, siblings and some extended family of the Beardsworth variety (David, Helen, Michael and Kathleen), who were in visiting Bend from Eugene. Michael is an avid technologist and brought up the then-current introduction of various “E-Book” reading devices. My personal feeling at the time was that these devices were utter crap. However, I didn’t have any particularly well codified intellectual framework for feeling this way, so as is often the case with things that come out of my mouth I rationalized my views on the fly, pulling from anything and everything at the top of my head. This neurological transport is often aided by the introduction of alcohol into my bloodstream, and this case was no exception. At some point during the conversation, I said something to this effect: “E-Books create a new problem where none exists”. This statement may seem at first glance to have no real value, but the point of my comment was to suggest that the consumption of penned books doesn’t suffer from a content consumption problem and that the physical property associated with reading has inherent value. I did, and still, feel this way. I have always loved books, even when they are nothing more than a set of reference documents sitting gathering dust on my shelf. I find reading developed literature and non-fiction in digital form to be somewhat atrocious (yes, I still print out every scientific article I read), and much prefer to have the book in my hands.

“E-Books create a new problem where none exists”. Interesting. It would suggest that there is no inherent value in the digital distribution of large bodies of work, and that the introduction of such a mechanism has major flaws. Certainly it does have major flaws. Digital property rights (on which I have strong feelings but will not discuss them here in any detail), digital distribution, content protection; These are all important topics the majority of which are not yet well developed in our country or in others. So is there some historical precedent on which to judge the value of a paradigm shift from real property distribution to that of digital distribution in something as fundamentally important to our society as literature? Eureka! Music! Let’s take a look.

Since the decline of 19th century classical romanticism and the introduction of the phonograph, the consumption of music by the body public has been inexorably tied to technology. Previously to the 20th century the only method for hearing music was to do one of two things: create music yourself, or go to a concert. Both of these have obvious value even still: the music in my ears right now is being created on real guitars by real people who are doing so for their own enjoyment, and concert-going has a long and uninterrupted tradition throughout all musical disciplines. The record was king in this time of musical upheaval. It may not have been the best system, but it was a decent solution. And music being as important as it is to millennia of civilized human beings, an incredible community was created around the idea of the ‘record’ and perhaps specifically the idea of a codified set of individual works which made up an ‘album’. Incredible. And for quite some time, the album remained king.

It can I think be reasonably argued that the movement of music into the digital realm was necessary and obvious. Even though music was distributed through the sale of a physical product through years past, it was still connected to some mechanism for its translation from the physical product into something that that could be consumed. Thus the art itself was preserved and its basic understanding by the consumer was no different regardless of the mechanism of retrieval. Now of course, it is easy to copy digital content and the idea of a digital work as physical property is horribly flawed, but this leads me down a discussion path to which I will not venture in this post. For sake of discussion I will lump the CD and the digital MP3 download into the same category as they both suffer from these problems. They are both digital content.

This new retrieval mechanism for musical art did, as its predecessor (the vinyl record), have a major impact on the object of artistic desire. Previously it was personal creation and concert-going, which then transitioned into consumption of a physical record or album. Albums themselves had obvious worth: they were the vehicle by which the art was transformed from an abstract encoding into something you and I could actually hear. Perhaps this is much in the same way that the art museum is the vehicle for the consumption of priceless works of visual art. But the introduction of digital content moved the ball into a whole new regime: the album is no longer king. There is no longer a physical vehicle through which music is consumed. None at all. And so what becomes of the album? It dies. It has been dying and will continue to do so. Songs are now sound bytes and albums are now just a collection of songs (An acquaintance of a friend once said to me “You know albums are just a bunch of songs right? You don’t have to get the whole album!” Yes I do, Mr. acquaintance, and you’re an idiot). Much of the music elite in this country and others will tell you that an album is much more than just a collection of songs and sound bytes. Guess what? They’re right. For now. But as has happened previously with any invention of a new content-delivery system, the previous structure that once stood so tall and proud as the be-all-end-all of musical desire will gradually wither away until it is a faint memory for most and an elite preoccupation for few. Perhaps I fit into that elite category; Music is one of the most important influences in my life and I still store all my music in album form (though digitally). I will continue to do so.

So what does this have to do with books and “E-Books” (I still die a little inside each time I hear that phrase, so I quote it every time). Let’s examine the content consumption mechanism of books with perhaps slightly less intent that for music, simply because the subject historically is far easier to understand. In the year 1440, goldsmith Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press. And we haven’t looked back since. The dominant form of literature (and non-fiction) consumption has been and continues to be the printed word. Printing presses have become more complex and more efficient and applied to huge range of content. Newspapers, books, magazines … there isn’t a point in listing them all. Any reader will certainly understand its significance. And, like the record of the 20th century’s effect on music, over the last near-600 years consumption of the printed word is the single most significant mechanism for which thought and information has been presented to the public. The community that has sprung up around the printed word perhaps isn’t even worth mentioning in the same light as that associated with the musical album only because it is so unbelievably significant that no blog post can ever attempt to do it any justice. It transcends volumes of possible discussion. The shear voracity with which the printed word is regarded in civilized society is no foreign concept to any even remotely educated person. Even I suffer from the “endless library” problem. I love to have books just because I love having books. There is something about a physical collection of printed knowledge that is almost mysterious. I can’t explain it, but I have no problem letting it exploit me. For the purposes of this discussion though, it is only necessary to understand that the book, the printed word, is the vehicle, and you and I are the train station.

“E-Books create a new problem where none exists”. What happens when we move the printed word into the digital age (let’s forget about digital rights and digital property for the time being)? Perhaps the best known example of this in current discussion around the world is the “newspaper problem”. I put it in quotes only because I have no idea what a person educated in the field would call this (though perhaps my father John could better define the problem, as he is a very successful and well-established newspaper editor). Other examples (books to “e-books”, magazines to “e-magazines”) are equally well discussed within this framework and my take on it will be as general as possible.

The musical album used to be the purchased content. Now we buy individual songs, and it could be well argued that this system isn’t working all too well (or at least the RIAA would have you believe that — they’re may be right through the lens of the “old” distribution system). In the realm of the printed word, the vehicle of consumption was the physical product. It was the book, the magazine, the newspaper. When you bought one of these items, you weren’t buying it for a specific sentence, phrase, paragraph, chapter or article. The purchase of such a physical item was in fact the transfer your confidence that the physical vehicle had inherent value (I’m overusing the word ‘physical’ here, but with good reason). And almost 600 years of experience tells me that in fact, we were right. The physical vehicle great value which greatly exceeded the collected worth of the individual printed words. I would argue that this is in fact true of the music album. Albums, as any elite music connoisseur will tell you, have a worth that far exceeds the sum of its parts. When you buy a book or magazine or newspaper, you are not only summing its parts; You are putting your faith in the creation of that work as an intellectual object that has inherent value. What an incredible concept.

So for me to read an article (or, because of digital content restrictions read the first two paragraphs of said article) in the Wall Street Journal titled “Publisher Tests Selling by the Chapter” brings to me great distress. Like the album became song snippets and cell phone ring tones, book chapters will no longer be available as a small but integral part of a consistent body of work, but rather as small, insignificant objects to be judged on their own merit. How absurd. (Warning: sentence fragment ahead) The idea that we will enter complacently into a new era where a collected work no longer has value. Ridiculous. I have consistently resisted the destruction of the musical album, and I will be damned if I won’t do the same for the printed word.

I am quite sure that the people responsible for this brand new marketing idea are simply understanding a general trend and following suit. But at what cost? What are we willing to sacrifice? The longstanding traditions of the printed world are one of the fundamental driving forces in our society. These traditions are arguably among the most important single concepts in this history of mankind. Certainly I am not suggesting that the introduction of digital literature and the segmentation of the printed word will destroy the intellectual precedents upon which we base our society. And I would argue that the length and significance of the history of the printed word will necessarily slow its conversion into a group of only intellectual snippets. I hope I die before this transition takes full force in the same way that the album has been destroyed. But maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe a month from now, it will be possible for you to buy and own rights to a digital copy of only “Leviticus” from the Hebrew Bible, Old Testament and the Torah.

What a sad day that will be.

—

A caveat: I am a huge open-access proponent and technologist. I spent the majority of my life dealing with technology in one way or another, whether that be how I think intellectual knowledge should be distributed or how to do a finite element calculation in a complex geometry where chaos in interfaces is important. This is my first attempt at a discussion of this problem, and my thoughts may not be totally clear. The major point of this post is to spur discussion. I want to talk about this with smart people, and if you think I’m horribly misguided, I want you to rip my ideas apart. I’m not kidding.

The album is littered with love songs, both mourning love lost and excited about love found. It is all very teen melodramatic. This is not to say that it is juvenile by any means. It throws enough ironic deadpan into the mix to make it enjoyable pop rather than trashy teen pop. The droll voice of Jeremy Coleman carries the lyrics, transforming them from teen cliche into excellent indie pop. Laura Coleman, drummer and sister of Jeremy, provides a wonderful harmony throughout most of the songs. She is able to subtly flesh out and bring life to the male Coleman’s lyrics, giving them a verve that really sells the best tracks on this album. The same can be said of Adam Fels (bass) and Graham Roberts (rhythm guitar) who also provide harmonic depth to the vocals. The modus operandi of the band is a rock-a-billy double guitar and bass line with crisp drumming. The music is overlaid with clear vocals. The band spends plenty of time wandering on solos but never obnoxiously so.

The album opens with the title track “Who Doesn’t Wanna Give Me Love” (it is telling that it is Wanna and not Want To), which gives us the “Are You Ready For The Heartache ‘Cause Here It Comes” (notice the contractual “‘Cause”). With the second track, “In A Sentimental Mood,” they settle into a nice groove for the album. The next track, however, shows that the band is willing to experiment some, not getting too far afield but different nonetheless. “Love Astronaut” channels some Postal Service with its melding of electronic tag lines with more conventional vocals. The result is one of the best songs on the album. It is a little kitschy but inordinately enjoyable on the ears. The rest of the album vacillates between reinterpretation of late 50’s rock and the more blusey stylings of “Cold, Hard Workin’ Man.” The songs are fun and short. What they lack in depth they make up for in pure enjoyment. I definitely recommend this album for a listen. You will probably find yourself listening it to it more and more in the spare minutes when you aren’t craving anything specific but don’t want to be bored or annoyed by the sound. This is not to make the album sound shallow, it isn’t. It carves out a nice spot in the modern indie pantheon as a throwback to the heyday of twee sounds.

Samples are available:

- Love Astronaut
- Honey Come Home

These are both from the debut album “Are You Ready For The Heartache ‘Cause Here It Comes.” The band is also currently touring the US to promote the album. They seem like they would be a good live band.

The album which hits stores on October 2nd from Nettwerk Records, the home of artists such as Avril Lavigne, Bare Naked Ladies, Did, and more indie acts like The Pipettes and The Submarines (all very Canadian), is a bit of a mixed bag. Overall it is a good children’s album that isn’t overly simplistic and makes you realize that Belle & Sebastian, Yo La Tengo, The Decemberists, and others are not too far off from a kids’ tune every now and then. However, this is quite literally the point. The album is bursting with ‘indie’ talent done up in the guise of kiddie minstrels. You have Bare Naked Ladies, Mates of State, Of Montreal, OAR, and Rogue Wave topping out the well known bands. However, the album is really stolen by tracks by some of the less known bands. Yes, Bare Naked Ladies really kill ‘The Other Day I Met A Bear’ but ‘The Submarines’ torpedo it with their glorious rendition of ‘My Darling Clementine.’ Another lesser known band, The Format, blows away the kids with ‘Does Your Cat Have a Moustache.’ It is the longest track by far and seems it might just barely captivate a very astute child, but its the quintessential example of indie-come-Raffi that one would expect on this album. The songs range from the very kid friendly (If You’re Happy And You Know It – Anathallo, No Hiding – Hem, or New Shoes – Blitzen Trapper) to the weirdly potty-mouthed and quite weak (The Lint Song – MC Lars or The Poopsmith Song – Over the Rhine). There are only a couple real stinkers that seem to be from the bigger names. OAR pumps out a lamely reggae ‘Itsy Bitsy Spider’ and Dar Williams turns out the seemingly personal ‘The Babysitter’s Here’ with its corny hippie morality that seems both lost on kids and the adult audience.

Overall it questionable whether or not the album is really for ‘The Kids’ or not. Some songs seem to really miss the target. But the ones that really hit home are undoubtedly songs that resonate with both little and ‘big’ kids. The real stretch for children’s listening seems to be the richness of the songs. Moby and Chrissi Poland, for example, beautifully harmonize on ‘Sleep So Very Long’ (a very un-Moby track) but will it resonate with the under 15 crowd? My guess is that it will, not with every child, but eventually it will. It seems like the kind of ancient MTV and Nickelodeon that is passively absorbed in youth but is only later appreciated for its staying power. Probably something they won’t appreciate until later… damn kids.

Dog
Shawna and I now have a dog. Her name is Kodiak St. Joan of Arc Fischer Hollen or Koda. She is the prettiest and most well behaved pup ever and no dog in the world is as wonderful. That being said it is very strange to be a dog owner. I have learned several interesting items:

1. You are now everyones new pal. The amount of strangers that come up to you in the street and begin conversations is impressive. Often its not just a “oh can I pet her” either. I find myself engaged in lengthy dog related conversations with perfect strangers on a daily basis.
2. You have to become a “dog person.” Puppies love to run and play. Providence doesn’t allow overnight street parking at all. This means that every house/apartment that used to have a yard now has a big asphalt driveway. This means we have to take her to the dog park. This always means you have to interact with other “dog people” and then you find yourself part of a loose knit self reinforcing community against your will. Governments would be so lucky.
3. Dogs with blue eyes get all the attention.

Book
After the death of of His Holiness Pope John Paul II and the elevation of Joseph Alois Ratzinger to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI I was worried because I knew very little about the new pope and in contrast to John Paul II with his anti-communist freedom fighting, attention to Catholic youth, and reformative attitude Benedict XVI seemed old and authoritarian. However, after reading more about the new spiritual leader through some excellent Catholic blogs (in case anyone is interested in Catholic blogs that are about current events and not “faith” per se.). I realized that he is brilliant. He is not the stodgy authoritarian I imagined and is, in fact, in every sense a theologian. He takes a very rational approach to religion and reminds me more of an academic professor (much like the ones I had at Bowdoin and not surprising considering he was one) than a priest. After his election to the Papacy, Benedict XVI has published a book on the historical figure of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the second most recent in a long history of books written by Benedict XVI. The startling aspect of the book is that the introduction clearly invites disagreement and discussion on his interpretation of the historical Jesus.

Whether or not you participate in the Catholic faith or if you even hearken to religion at all its a good book. It is a very interesting discussion of the theology of Catholicism with respect to the Catholic relation with Jesus the man. A very worthwhile read for the Christians and atheists on vdov.

Music
There are a few tracks that have been leaked recently or just came out that are most excellent.

For Reverend Green from Strawberry Jam by Animal Collective. (buy it)

The Animal Collective continues to get better with each album. For Reverend Green has the typical Animal Collective repetitive and loud melody dressed with beautiful vocals that give the whole thing a glorious rising sound. The sound is huge and you may find yourself listening to it over and over again. Even as the vocals dip into harsher screaming it is never too long and gives the song the right amount of edge that is at the same time taken off by the wonderful sound of the melody.

Paper Planes from Kala by M.I.A. (buy it)

Basically M.I.A. is gold right now. Everything she does is great. The new album is fantastic. I guess that Paper Planes is her “gangster” song. Singing of globe trotting, visa toting, criminality seems un-M.I.A. but the song is wonderful. Catchy chorus and a great pop sound. Even cash register and gun sound effects thrown in.

The Mending of the Gown from Random Spirit Lover by Sunset Rubdown (pre-order it direct)

Spencer Krug, formerly of Wolf Parade, is just about to release his third album. It is on new label Jagjaguwar based in Bloomington, IN. Sunset is absolutley on fire. This album is currently leaked and from what I have heard it is amazing. Much like Animal Collective Sunset has a big sound that is almost frantic at times. Mending of the Gown is just one of several awesome songs I have heard from this album. The sound is beautifully layered and Krug’s singing is earnest and captivating. The harmonization heard in this track is wonderful and subtle. I am also very curious who Maggie and Sam are.

Friends
Just a couple notes on some of the people over to the right in our blog roll. Matt Murchison is leaving for China just about now. He is going to be breeching the Great Firewall of China (which bans wordpress and blogger blogs). He is going to be posting pictures (and he takes good ones) on his flickr account which should be awesome.

Henry Work is moving to California to start a company. It promises to be awesome. Just look at all his awesome ideas. My guess is he ends up doing robot repairs for Disney’s animatronics.

Tim Barz has finally added more street art (i.e. graffiti) to his site. Some of the stuff is damn cool. One of the benefits of living in Manhattan is that it makes you seem cool even if you just take pictures of walls in your neighborhood.

I am not actually sure what Mort, Derek, and Jesse are actually doing. But their blog keeps getting updated so I can only assume that they are not dead (yet). Its good stuff and there is PHILOSOPHY on it… philosophy that relates to PORN!!!!1

Thats all I really know about. I am sure Costa has more info on his share of internet friends.

The first difference was in the setup. Akron/Family played in the standard “opener-main band” configuration while The M’s, Maritime and a whole host of others played from 12pm to 12am, mirroring the SxSW festival. So the big difference was in the focus between one band and a long set and a whole slew of contenders (we only saw The Zincs, The M’s, Maritime, and Velcro Lewis and His 100 Proof Band) only playing 30 minute sets or so. The other striking difference was the median age of the concert watchers. Normally I find that acosta and myself are just about average age at this point for most of the indie scene in Chicago. You have a your college students and then you have people trailing off from there as they get older. However, everyone at the Hideout was older than us, and probably by a good 5-10 years. The last difference was how “official” it seemed. The Empty Bottle is a staple of the Chicago indie scene and although I am not well versed in the politics and society involved it has always seemed to be a key establishment. However, it has never seemed pretentious or assuming. The Empty Bottle schedules great lineups yet maintains its low key attitude.

The Hideout (at least this night… seeing as it is my only experience) had the exact opposite effect. They were definitely high energy. The announcer was the same announcer as the Pitchfork Music Festival. It was the “official” send-off for the SxSW bound bands. I couldn’t imagine it being more “official” and still being indie. They even had corporate sponsors (Goose Island and the Chicago Reader… hardly corporate America but still). The leather jacketed 40 somethings in front of us even spent most of the time taking pictures with their Blackberries. The announcer very clearly wanted the bands playing that day, the festival, SxSW, and the greater Midwest indie scene to fit into a grand musical tradition ranging from American Roots music through Woodstock and to the present day. The announcer specifically name checked Woodstock and The Newport Folk Festival. Even if indie music is that important 30 years hence it seems a little presumptuous. It would have been only a minor annoyance if it had a ring of truth to it. Perhaps it was just the bands we saw but no one in the line up seemed like a Jimmi Hendrix, Electric Bob Dylan, or The Who. Its exactly that kind of grandstanding amongst the indie crowd that really rings hollow unless you find yourself truly blown away by the bands. Theatrics aside, it was a fine show although it makes me wonder how people survive Austin during SxSW.

The Akron/Family show took place at my favorite Chicago venue (and the source of most of vdov’s Chicago music reviews), The Empty Bottle. The show started rather late for a Friday (10:00) and was opened by one of the bartenders’ bands “Robert AA Lowe & Ben Vida.” It consisted of a kind of tantric duet that made heavy use of brass bells, tape loops, mudras, and nearly Gregorian vocals. Their entire set was one solid sound beginning with the tinkling of bells and ending in a multi-toned layer cake of sound. The only drawback was the chanting might have dragged out a bit too far toward the end. However, no one can doubt this duet’s intensity. Toward the end of the set the afro-ed and mustache-ioed “lead” singer was literally leaning off the stage with his shoes half grounded and half jutting into thin air and standing nearly ten feet tall.

After Robert and Ben left the stage there was a seemingly interminable setup for Akron/Family. However, the Akron bassist Miles Seaton (clearly the showboat of the quartet) entertained the crowd lip synching and dancing to Michael Jackson songs that the band clearly requested to be played between acts. The playful pop intro quickly vaporized when they hit their first notes, jaunting off into the newly christened territory of “Freak Folk” which the band explicitly referenced as home. However, Akron/Family differs in sound from other Freak Folksters like Joanna Newsom or Devendra Banhart in that they have a much more robust sound and do not shy away from more bombastic rock sounds. This is not to say that they don’t have their quiet and almost precious moments on stage. Perhaps the highlight of the show was “Love and Space” from their recent album Meek Warrior. During the song as the band members gathered together around one mic they literally had the entire Empty Bottle (even way back at the bar) whisper quite chanting the backup lines of “Love and Space” while they solemnly harmonized over it. It was an impressive feat to see a crowd that engaged in a band, that enthralled.

I would say that the attention was entirely deserved as they were clearly comfortable with their instruments and each other, taking cues from one another on the fly and bringing strange sounds out of their otherwise normal instrumentation through various manipulations. For example: the drummer/vocalist/banjoist Dana Janssen drew an upright bass bow across the edge of his xylophone keys to produce crisp lasting tones that were looped back into their four pat harmonies and Seaton (the bassist) literally made a call on his cell phone during the show to use the magnet in its speaker to induce strange sounds from the pickups on his bass which he endlessly overlaid and looped on each other creating a strange harmony of noise. They ended the show with a strange sort of neo-Aquarian joint, literally handing out percussion instruments and recorders to audience members and dragging them onto the stage for a seemingly interminable jam which is the only time where I may have lost interest. Truly hipsters are the hippies of our age. My only regret is not making it back for their second night on Saturday. Akron/Family is by far the most engaging and seemingly mystical bands I have ever seen (not quite and mystical as Wooden Wand but more engaging), a truly unique and exciting live show. Even the ever aloof acosta was drawn in. I would recommend it to anyone if you find them playing in your area.

[Look for part II of this review soon, where acosta and I venture to a new venue for vdov and take part in some of the "official" indie scene of Chicago]

I am not the first and I certainly won’t be the last to compare SYGC to Belle and Sebastian. They have the same plaintive frankness and “slice of life” type lyrics. The sound is similar ranging from jazzy swing to an odd country western twang on the guitars here and there. They orbit between quiet and mournful voice with faint backups to jaunty choruses backed up with several voices, horns, rich cello, and well done percussion. One of my favorites on their LP is I Know A Girl which is equal parts funny and fun. The song that stands out as obviously different is Tear Down the Opera House which is just a touch rowdier than anything else. I won’t give away the single that was just released but it is well worth the buy. It has been in heavy rotation on my speakers recently. I wish I could give you direct links to everything but the java on their website is not very link friendly, but they do have more music samples and available merch on their website. Definitely check it out.

Now as for their live presence… wonderful. They sound even richer and more imposing live. They were not the headliner when they played but they definitely drew the biggest crowd of the night. Submarine Races, the headliners, were great but Scotland Yard was just more captivating. They have a compelling energy that is very easy to pick up in their playing. They also have a great range of sound. They have a great array of instrumentation and bring all of it to bear from the Cello to the drum kit. I would definitely put SYGC in the “keep an eye on” column. They don’t have any upcoming shows listed but you can join their mailing list for updates. It was definitely a good night for Chicago music at the Empty Bottle.

This album does not officially come out until January 23, 2007. However, it has been sufficiently leaked that every song is available online and can be found through the aggregating glory of The Hype Machine and Elbo.ws. So I feel compelled to review it.

While I think this is lesser than Sunlandic it is only barely so. Of Montreal has sidled into their “New Disco” psychadelia groove without looking back at all. However, they have the excellent ability of dodging the triteness of Disco while still emulating the style. While the lyrics can often seem bloated, too personal, and downright weird by themselves, they are given a rich musical background that breathes an air of respectability and downright “grooviness” into them. It would be also important to note that Kevin Barnes, the lead singer, moved with his wife and child from Athens, GA to Norway. The new cultural deluge is apparent as well as a tinge of depression and (of course) introversion. The 12 minute centerpiece of the album “The Past is a Grotesque Animal” is a clear homage and personal, emotional vent to his wife. The emotionally overloaded lyrics, however, don’t falter because they are strung together by unbelievably upbeat music that prompts dancing rather than quiet introversion.

Barnes and his crew have scored big with this album in that it holds its own after Sunlandic’s shining. Too many bands wither in their own radiance after a pinnacle album. The fact that Montreal is able to capture a slightly different vibe, maintain their aesthetic, and still pump out new melodies is a testament to their staying power. Seeing the band live might be the best way to get a really good idea of their verve and energy. I wish I could give a better depiction but it seems that crappy bitrate video from cameras is all you get on youtube. Anyway, go see them live.

Until then, remember that they are a band that loves free market capitalism:

Lady Strangelove EP – Quebi 3 – mp3
Lady Strangelove EP – Rotate 2 – mp3

For your aural and visual pleasure I bring you Sartain’s two step swing from south of the border. The video gives a great slice of the man and the song’s incongruous mariachi becomes quite congruous. The album’s cover art is also worthy of praise giving Sartain the stark iconic swath he so richly deserves. I hope you all enjoy.

The single on this one may very well be “Australia” which is pretty damn good. However, at the very bottom of the album you will find A Comet Appears. This is classic Shins. http://vdov.net/index.php/2006/11/track-reviews-new-vdov-features/ http://vdov.net/index.php/2006/11/track-reviews-new-vdov-features/#comments Sat, 18 Nov 2006 04:45:48 +0000 afischer http://vdov.net/index.php/2006/11/548 I have been trying to think of vdov.net articles that can put a shot of juice in the arm of this website. They need to be something that can lead to frequent updates but are short enough to capture the fickle readership here. This does not mean that when the spirit moves me I will not write a 3000 word review of some crappy emo band posturing on their own lame internal conflicts. It does mean that I am going to throw some gems (both old and recent) your way. I am hoping to keep this up as a multi-weekly post. I will try very hard not to just post a bunch of Misfits tracks along with Billy Joel. I would like to make this a fairly wide ranging endeavor, which could lead to me being exposed as the charlatan that I am. I will try to avoid obvious “singles” and give something a little more fun and perhaps as of yet un-listened-to.

Professor Murder was one of our West(East) Coast Informant’s picks. They played at Spaceland in LA so they were mainlined to me by TW(E)CI. Professor Murder just released their debut EP, Professor Murder Rides the Subway, which has gotten some love from the higher ups. The single is most likely the crisp and beat heavy “Free Stress Test.” The other serious contender on the album is Champion, which is Test’s dirtier little brother. The percussion is equally rough yet captivating yet the almost tantric vocals floats eerily over the electric drive of the instrumentation. The whole track is a little discombobulated but has enough internal cohesion that it sticks in your craw and demands at least a couple more listens.

Look for more tracks soon. If you want to request a track review email me @ rtrev -at- vdov -dot- net

LyricWiki seems to have gone live in April of this year. Their goal is to have a comprehensive list of lyrics done in the MediaWiki format. Most of their additions so far seem to have come from an automated bot they made to populate the site. However, the potential for a community driven site is massive. I am not really sure what their end goal is but I envision them being absorbed by the Wikipedia, which it seems they might not be opposed to.

I also have some hope that it will evolve into a kind of lyric annotation site. One of my favorite music websites of all time is The Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics by David Dodd. The only problem is that no one has made a similar website for other bands as far as I can tell. What sets Dodd’s site apart from wretched places like SongMeanings.com is that SongMeanings is worthless for actually finding anything out about the cultural context and allusions in lyrics (OMG! this song is so pretty!!111one). Dodd’s site on the other hand is well researched and fantastic, if not dirtily hippieish. Maybe LyricsWiki has no intention of going that way but the potential is definitely there.

The drawbacks are mostly related to the youth of the site. Wikis like this need a strong community to build and maintain content. They are still trying to recruit that community so tell your friends because I would really like for this project to work. There are some organizational problems that need to be ironed out but the WikiMedia site is nice and clean as always. What they really need is more contributors… so click away, sign up, and get to work. I definitely plan on getting involved in this one and have already posted my inaugural lyrics. These are lyrics that you won’t find anywhere else on the internet… I know I have looked. So go check out “Dead Sue by Wooden Wand and the Sky High Band.