I Love Falling in Love With Bands

So, for those of you that know me, you know that I love to fall in love with bands that I had never heard before. I usually go from owning none of a band's music to owning most of their catalogue within a few weeks. Well, here's my new band: The Frames. They've been around a long time, but I just haven't paid attention.

Recently, I heard about this new movie called Once, which stars Glen Hansard from The Frames. This movie looks amazing, and the reviews are incredible. I began listening to a stream of the soundtrack the other day (because it's a musical, crazy). It's unreal. I really liked Hansard's voice and his songwriting, so I got two CDs by The Frames and the solo CD he put out with his co-star in Once, Marketa Irglova. It's all pretty amazing. I would have bought the soundtrack, but I could only find it on iTunes for 10 bucks. I got all the other stuff with my eMusic account (I get 30 downloads a month for 10 bucks).

Regardless, you should check out Glen Hansard or The Frames. If you happen to be in a city larger than Fayetteville (like an Austin, or a Denver, or a KC, or a Dallas, etc.) you should see if you can catch a showing of Once...I hear it's incredible. I recommend The Frames (especially the album Burning the Maps) for anyone who likes European sorts of epic rock--Coldplay, Travis, and the like (but expect a less polished, more passionate singer). There's a lot of comparison between U2 and The Frames, but I think it's unwarranted. The only thing they have in common is that they're rock bands and they're from Ireland. Also, if you like Damien Rice (but feel he's been a little too commercialized as of late), then you'll really like Hansard's solo stuff.

Also, whichever band you check out, listen to the song "Falling Slowly." Hansard's acoustic version is maybe one of my favorite songs right now. However, The Frames' version on The Cost is sweet as well.

What Do Record Execs Know Anyway?

"Clive Davis once told me that a hit song consists of a catchy melody and lyrics with a formula: verse, verse, pre chorus, chorus, instrumental, verse and chorus fade. The perfect song to me would be Pete Seeger's "Turn Turn Turn" even though it doesn't follow the formula. Pete wrote a lovely melody and adapted the lyrics from the timeless truths of Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8."

-Roger McGuinn of The Byrds

NPR asked a dozen or so artists to tell them about the perfect song. While I don't agree that Pete Seeger's "Turn, Turn, Turn" is the perfect song, I do like what McGuinn had to say. If you don't know, The Byrd's biggest hit was their pop cover of this old folk song. Clive Davis is a long time record exec. He's launched many careers (and re-launched Carlos Santana's career). However, this is proof to me that record execs and A&R reps will NEVER know more about music than a musician. Davis and the like can stick to formulas that will make money, but those forumlas will never be as important as a musician making music that means something to himself (or herself). You can write for the radio and write to please people, but the music we still listen to today (without chuckling to ourselves) is music that defied the formulas and broke the molds and expressed a musician's artistic and emotional desires.

The Skies Have Never Been More Blue...

You'll read some varied reviews on the new Wilco album. I've seen it called "dad rock." I've seen it called "better than The Eagles." None of that really matters to me. What I can tell you is this: when I put the needle to the vinyl, I heard something at once familiar and at once completely different from anything Wilco had ever done.

Wilco (read: Jeff Tweedy) has never been one to live up to expectations. Basically, whatever you expect from Wilco, plan for the opposite. Being There was a country-tinged masterpiece, and it was followed by a brilliant experimental pop album called Summerteeth. That album showed promise for a radio-friendly rock band; it was followed by the experimental, noise-laden studio wonder Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. A Ghsot is Born was a more likely follow-up to YHF, but it's minimalist rock was probably a surprise to those expecting the noise that had accompanied Wilco's music since Summerteeth. All this is to say, never expect Wilco to meet your expectation. Jeff Tweedy makes his own set of rules.

Sky Blue Sky continues this trend. The sixth album from the Chicago-based band sounds nothing like any of its predecessors. However, there are hints of familiarity. There's Jeff Tweedy's unforgettable voice, which sounds better than ever. Mixed into this straight-forward (musically and lyrically) album is Tweedy's trademark stream of consciousness musings, like on "You Are My Face" (filling into tight lines/of ordinary beehives/the door screams I hate you/hate you hanging 'round my blue jeans). Though Wilco has never had a straight folk sound, the backbone to most of YHF and A Ghost is Born and Being There was simple folk songs built into country-rock or deconstructed into experimental progressive rock. That's there, but this time Wilco has chosen to let folk songs be folk songs.

Some will critique Wilco's lack of adventure on this album. The band isn't charting any new territory in music. This isn't what you would have expecting from Wilco's newest lineup (remember what I said about expectations?). After all, Glen Kotche is one of the most amazing avant garde drummers on the earth. Nels Cline is a master of texture on the guitar. However, Glen Kotche has Glen Kotche albums to be that guy. Nels Cline has Nels Cline albums to explore texture on. Here, they aren't held in a box by Wilco's frontman. Instead, I think Kotche and Cline are using Wilco as a platform to express themselves differently. Sometimes, you just want to rock. Nels brings his jazz to the table on the album (see "Impossible Germany"). Glen brings some of his amazing drum "skillz" to the table (see "Shake It Off"). Regardless, Nels Cline knows he can play textural jazz music behind Jeff's songs. Instead, he chooses to play rock leads (though jazzy) and slide guitar to compliment the songs.

This new Wilco isn't about being progressive for progressiveness' sake. This band is about playing what feels right, playing what sounds great, and being comfortable with straight-forwardness. This isn't Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. There are no great studio tricks here. There's just great songs being played by a great band who's probably more comfortable than they've ever been.
Album Rating: A

A Song You Should Probably Be Listening To Right Now

You should be listening to "The Pelican" by Menomena. First off, you should have already bought Friend and Foe by Menomena. It's probably one of the best albums to have been released this year. It's really gaining momentum for me. I like it more and more with each listen.

Regardless, "The Pelican" is a freakin' awesome song. It reminds me of TV on the Radio without sounding derivative of TVotR. Basically, that's a good thing...a really good thing.

Also, this is BY FAR the best album artwork of the year. You really need to see an actual copy of the artwork to appreciate it. A picture really just doesn't do it justice. All those colored spots are on different layers showing through holes in the cover. It's weird but awesome.

**EDIT: An argument could be made that Casadaga by Bright Eyes has the best artwork. That's a good argument to make. However, since the music on Casadaga is utterly disappointing, Friend and Foe wins.

**EDIT: The picture finally works. Isn't it sweet? By the way, the red spots are an inner layer of the booklet and the yellow spots are on the disc itself. The one blue spot and the speech bubble are also on the disc.