Prom Night 2010

My friend Jeff has been talking about what a huge year 2010 was going to be for music since this time last year. Actually, I remember him mentioning that The National was going to be releasing a new one at Christian's birthday party in early March. There has been many a heated discussion as to what the best album of the year is so far. Yes, I realize that it's barely May and yes, I realize that it's rather childish to be so passionate about what, in fact is, the best album so far this year, that you throw your drink into Jeff's face and tell him that he should have been a blow job, but we aren't hear to discuss manners, I'm just telling you what happened.

Anyway, The National, Broken Social Scene, The New Pornographers, Stars, Arcade Fire, and others all have albums dropping this year. Surely one of these established heavy-hitters has got to top the lists at the end of the year. So far, both Jeff and I have been underwhelmed with the typical highly anticipated releases. Broken Social Scene's "Forgiveness Rock Record" is solid, and my girlfriend is in love with the National and hasn't be disappointed with their offering. Jeff is holding out that Stars will explode and crush him with their ultrahigh gravity songs.

It's too early to say anything so far. In fact, I'm a big fan of making best of lists after a 365 day cooling off period. So if it wasn't for the excitement of something new, I'd be writing about the best of 2008 right now. However, Aloha's "Home Acres" has really been doing it for me. They are such a great band, lying somewhere between prog and thoughtful pop. "Home Acres" really trims the fat as there isn't much, or any, filler. The dynamic of the record is thought full and "Ruins" ends the record on one of those epically high notes that makes you want to turn the record over and immediately listen to the record again. I wish they would come to Minneapolis sometime.

Do you like to dance?

The good people at Aloha's record label, Polyvinyl, also released a Norwegian band called Casiokids this week. The album isn't just a dance record, although it does have those hip beats that the young kids really go for. The record is also considerate enough to play like a regular pop album complete with reach-out-and-grab-you-singles, more intimate hip swayers, and songs that reveal their greatness with multiple listens.

Here is a little taste of Casiokids and Aloha:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=H86M8JQ0

Kiss Me.

If I were to compose a list titled "Best Bands That Only Released One Album" the John Wilkes Kissing Booth would almost certainly top the list. If I were to make a list of best songs that were never properly released on an album, "Black Market Malaysia" would similarly be high about most. While not the best quality, this video is much better than I'd expect it to be and excessively demonstrates how epically rock and roll this band is. From "Are you pussies ready for this?" to "Skah-douche!" this video oozes awesome. I'm glad this exists

I was lucky enough to see JWKB preform in a class room at the Des Moines Botanical Center to a crowd of, maybe, ten.

Secret Panels "Divider" Review

Maybe halfway through, it hits you that what you've been listening to isn't a rock record. Sure, it's guitars and drums and voice, but the album is something else entirely. At first, the words seem to represent various religious sects. Islamic zealots are easily identified on songs like "Last Morning" and "Rush Hour Bus", and as you listen, other cults like Heaven's Gate are represented on songs like "The Comet". But the revelations do not end as it is here that the purpose of the album begins to become visible.

The epic is disguised by it's six songs; yet it's length rivals the last Radiohead record. Half of the tracks are mini Who-like rock operas. Think "A Quick One While He's Away" only menacing. Nearly every song has "Peter and the Wolf" like instrumental representation with several apocalyptic breakdowns in the manner of Wagner.

The lyrics are simple enough, but like a doomsday Hemmingway, they tell a devastating tale of violence and ideology. The war cries of Jihads and Crusades are the same words sung in Christian churches every Sunday morning. Indeed, the songs are structured after Muslim prayers, Psalms and Sunday morning praise songs.

The album may suffer from some production short comings, but it only serves to make Secret Panels helmsman Jeremy Grace come off as an Old Testament Prophet, using what he can to preach his message; not for fame or glory, but to save the people from themselves.

This is not a rock record, but listen and hear one of the most ambitious and important musical recordings of the past five years. You'll be blown away like a suicide bomber on a rush hour bus.

Casiokids

There is something about the phrase "dance music" that makes me throw my defenses up quicker than a corporate CEO caught red-handed orchestrating a Ponzi scheme. See, despite knowing better, I still associate "dance music" with trashy clubs downtown with V.I.P. areas that amount to nothing more than a velveteen rope around a semi-circle booth where you pay for overpriced, watered-down drinks. It's not just the club, the patrons or the proprietors of clubs that make them trashy in my mind. It's the music. Loud, thumping quarter notes, unimaginatively arranged or remixed (barf.) and blasted threw subwoofers to the point that one would literally have to suffering from a terrible case of rigamortis not to hypnotically bob their head up and down.

There's nothing wrong with dancing, liking to dance or even going to a club to dance. The sin is that the music is Lady Gaga at best and some flavor-of-the-week rapster wanna be at worse. Actually, it could get really ugly if the DJ played "Who Let the Dogs Out", but we won't count your cousin's wedding reception here.

Why do I not associate dance music with New Order or even, more recently, MGMT? Both groups make perfectly acceptable songs to listen to, and most of them have beats funky enough to get even the most rigid of us to swing a hip or two.

Even if dancing is the activity and listening to the music is secondary, I would still think it imperative to the conscientious listener not to pollute themselves with noise that amounts to the music equivalent of empty calories.

Lady and maybe a Gentleman: I give you Norway's Casiokids. From what I understand, their forthcoming album will be the first Norwegian language record released in the US. That's right, you won't be able to understand what they are singing. However, from what I've heard, it won't matter one bit.

This is music that dares you not to throw a party.

Second Hand News

When I first heard the song, I thought it was obscure single from Kindercore band Masters of the Hemisphere, released only as a 7-inch Singles Club A side. If you were a member of the club, Kindercore would send you a different 7-inch every month featuring a song from two different Kindercore artists. Subpop would do this too, which is where I first heard bands like The Mountain Goats and John Vanderslice. Unfortunately, more often than not, the fun was in the artifact of having a collection of a dozen or so 7-inch records than finding a new band to fall in love with.

The glaring exception was Masters of the Hemisphere. From the first time I put the record on, I was in love with the song. It had a great acoustic guitar chug and a melody that soared. For years-years!-I would fish threw my small stack of 7-inch records and pull out this Singles Club release to listen to this one song; usually three or four times in a row.

When I began to mature a little and became more open to music released by bands that were older than I was, I went on a mission to find some great classic rock that would inspire my fledging indie rock sensibilities. One such record that was continuously recommended to me was Fleetwood Mac's "Rumors", so when I saw a used copy for $1 at Des Moines' Zzz Records, it wasn't a difficult purchase to make.

I sat on the record for a couple of days, maybe, before I blocked out enough time to give the whole thing a listen. Listen: The vinyl sliding out of the paper sleeve, the crackle of the needle on vinyl, the chug of an acoustic guitar. My jaw hitting the floor.

Yes, I was, and still am, largely sheltered from classic rock and roll that many people view as staples of a well balanced music diet. I was also surprised to find out that I was semi-familiar with many of the other songs on "Rumors", but this was largely due to my familiarity with car commercials and the like.

So this Masters of the Hemisphere song that I loved was only a cover song. I was overwhelmed, I almost felt betrayed. I gradually came to accept the release as a well done cover, true to the original.

But now that I'm familiar with it, the cover is not as good as the original.

New Broken Social Scene song

Top of the Pops

I tried to select one album that I obsessed over per year since I was in high school, but some years there were more than one.

The List:

1998-16 years old. Radiohead "Ok Computer"; Starflyer 59 "The Fashion Focus"

1999-17 years old. The Lassie Foundation "Pacifico"

2000-18 years old. Pedro the Lion "Winners Never Quit"; The Flaming Lips "The Soft Bulletin"

2001-19 years old. Starflyer 59 "Leave Here a Stranger"; John Wilkes Kissing Booth "A Threat to the Broadcast"; Death Cab for Cutie "The Photo Album"

2002-20 years old. John Vanderslice "Life and Death of an American Four Tracker"; Mates of State "Our Constant Concern"; The Flaming Lips "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots"; Wilco "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot"

2003-21 years old. Death Cab for Cutie "Transatlanticism" Unwed Sailor "The Marionette and the Music Box"

2004-22 years old. Sufjan Stevens "Seven Swans"; The Envy Corps "Soviet Reunion"; Arcade Fire "Funeral"

2005-23 years old. Decibully "Sing Out, America"

2006-24 years old. Belle and Sebastian "The Life Pursuit"

2007-25 years old. The Arcade Fire "Neon Bible"; TV on the Radio "Return to Cookie Mountain"

2008-26 years old. Starflyer 59 "Dial M"

2009-27 years old. Decibully "World Travels Fast"