Thursday, January 29, 2009

On The Sunny Side Of The Street (Day 184)

Animal Collective - "Lion In A Coma"
Grizzly Bear - "Two Weeks" (live)
Animal Collective - "Banshee Beat"
I think I like Animal Collective's much ballyhooed album Merriweather Post Pavillion, but I'm still not sure how much. However today's two songs in close proximity definitely signal that the band is evolving in a good way. The former, from Pavillion, is still trademark AC - - electronic noise, cacophonous percussion, overlapping vocals. But it's also generally focused, concise and rhythmic. Whereas, "Banshee Beat" from 2005's Feels, is way more atmospheric and meandering. Change is good.
Devendra Banhart - "Dogs They Make Up The Dark"
Sufjan Stevens - "Holland"
Man, hearing this song today made me want a new Sufjan album. Where is it? Can't wait for the opus on my home state, New Jersey. I can just imagine what he'd do with the Turnpike, Pine Barrens, Thomas Edison, Jersey Devil, et al.
Dan Zanes - "On The Sunny Side Of The Street"
The Elected - "Don't Get Your Hopes Up"
Led Zeppelin - "Dazed And Confused"
Hmm. Not sure this Zep song has aged particularly well. (I won't mention this to my co-worker who actually just got "Zoso" and the other three symbols from IV tattooed on his bicep this week.) Other songs from the first album have stood up better, I think ("Good Times Bad Times," "How Many More Times"). This track just sounds a bit too grandiose, perhaps. It's hard not to think of a Jimmy Page "bow" solo...and then, naturally, Spinal Tap.





The Polyphonic Spree - "Section 24 [Fragile Army]"
Paul Westerberg - "Good Day"

And then I got to work.

Today's Stats
Total songs listened to: 10
Total minutes of music (approx.): 44
Song with the most previous plays: "On The Sunny Side Of The Street" - 20
How I Rate Today's Playlist (1-10): 7
Miscellaneous factoid about my trip to work today: Actually, this happened yesterday. In honor of the late John Updike I read his 1960 New Yorker essay on Ted Williams last game, "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu". Not only is it awesome (this may be common knowledge and I may be late to the party), but it also contains my new favorite sentence about what makes sports so great found in American literature.
Nevertheless, there will always lurk, around a corner in a pocket of our knowledge of the odds, an indefensible hope, and this was one of the times, which you now and then find in sports, when a density of expectation hangs in the air and plucks an event out of the future.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Led Zepplin the most overated rock and roll band on the planet. Listening to them is still painful 40yrs. later. Actually, just thinking about them is painful. Sirius has a complete channel dedicated to these noise makers. Give me a break, or better the Rolling Stones, Heartbreakers, Tom Petty, etc. any day