Sparklehorse - "Dreamt For Light Years In"
This song had me thinking a lot about this band (mostly since it clocks in at 10:34 and I had a lot of time to think). A few things I do want to mention: This is one of those bands that I feel I own. I mentioned this a bit with my remarks earlier about Eleventh Dream Day. It's just that perverse thrill that you discovered a band and not that many other people you know are really into them. From what I know about Sparklehorse (not too much, really), it's basically the work of singer-songwriter Mark Linkous. The band is a kind of a lo-fi look into the brain of this former chimney sweep (who also nearly killed himself by mixing a bunch of antidepressants), and there are moments of pop brilliance combined with atmospheric weirdness. This song, for example, is nothing but the soft, trippy side; and it really spends a whole lot of time going nowhere. However, it illustrates that with a slight nip and tuck everyone of Linkous' albums would be pretty great. I did see Sparklehorse live once. I believe it was around 1996, at a cool NYC gallery/performance art space called Threadwaxing Space (which I think is still around). The second most memorable thing that happened that night, after seeing a predictably weird set by Sparklehorse, is that I bought a Steve Keene painting for a buck. If you've never heard of him, Keene's the dude that made this album cover. Besides his work with indie bands like Pavement, The Silver Jews and The Apples In Stereo he's known for producing mass quantities of colorful comic-like art. That night, the place was covered with his paintings and all you had to do was leave a dollar to take one home. My Keene is a painting of President William Howard Taft with the words "The Big Man" written next to his face. It hangs next to the sink in my kitchen.
Bishop Allen - "Butterfly Nets" (live)
Les Savy Fav - "Roadside Memorial"
Outkast - "Reset"
The Early Years - "All Ones And Zeros"
The Go-Betweens - "This Night's For You"
Belle & Sebastian - "The Model"
Golden Smog - "Long Time Ago"
Bob Dylan & The Band - "Yazoo Street Scandal"
Tom Waits - "Buzz Fledderjohn"
Just want to take a moment and blog here about Waits, because a) he rules, and b) I feel like I'm still working my way through 2006's Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers and Bastards. One Tom Waits song can be inscrutable (in a good way), but 56 boggles the mind. So, by slooowing things down and looking at each song maybe I'll eventually be able to wrap my head around it. For example, this song is a bluesy Waits tune that apparently was previously only available as a European single and on the Japanese version of Mule Variations. I'm glad it has a proper home here. Waits hungover croon is subtly backed by bluesmaster John Hammond Jr. on slide guitar and harmonica. Damn, I really have to throw myself more fully into this collection.
And then I got to work.
Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 10
Total minutes of music (approx.): 47
Song with the most previous plays: "Long Time ago" - 7
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Got a thrill out of seeing my wife's name in the paper today next to an excellent review for her new show, The Paper. Please watch it tonight on MTV at 10:30pm ET.
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3 comments:
Dude, it's like I'm blog-stalking you...
I know that ownership thing. However, I feel like my little secrets (Pavement, GBV, Modest Mouse, etc.) keep getting gobbled up by the masses. Of course, I still feel like I have a few mostly to myself (Swearing at Motorists, Archers of Loaf, Thao Nguyen). Pitchfork and others have made sole ownership impossible.
Plan on watching the show tonight. i haven't watched anything on MTV in a long time.
I love almost every song on the "Bawlers" disc of Waits' Orphans set - much more so than the "Brawlers" disc that includes the song you mentioned. The balladeer Waits appeals much more to my musical tastes these days than the swamp-rocking Waits. On a similar note, when I first heard Swordfishtrombones 15+ years ago, I loved the more rocking songs but don't favor those as much any more, while I now love "In The Neighborhood" and "A Soldier's Things." Maturing tastes, I guess?
(I also concur on the ownership thing. Fortunately my secrets never seem to hit it big, so artists like Joel R.L. Phelps, Scruffy the Cat and Vehicle Flips still feel like my very own.)
Love how we all have our secret artists that we're happy to have to ourselves - - while they starve! Too funny.
Also, Pete, I can relate to your mellowing with age, sadly. In terms of balladeer Waits, do you have Early Years Vol. 2? It's mostly demos but that version of "Hope I Don't Fall In Love With You" is one of my all-time favorite love songs.
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