Miike Snow: Miike Snow

I was unaware there was any amount of hype around Miike Snow's self-titled debut. Never having heard anything, a friend of mine passed along this album back in early July and it really grew on me. I had previewed the album on Amazon, but I tell ya, those 30-second clips just aren't enough sometimes. (I purchased a Gentleman Jesse album based on a series of 30-second clips and man do I regret that. I listened to that album once and deleted it.)

Miike Snow is a collection of three Swedes that have been in the biz for a while. They were all intricately involved in the composition of Britney Spears' song "Toxic." I had actually read that somewhere before I heard the album, so I was prejudiced against Miike; I was looking for reasons to dislike them. However, similar to their fellow countrymen Peter Bjorn & John, Miike Snow knows how to lay down electronic beats. However, they do not sound like PB&J; I would describe them as Animal Collective for Dummies (in other words, if Animal Collective had created an album for the average listener). Miike Snow sort of sounds like Ratatat remixing Passion Pit covering Animal Collective (at least to my ears).

I would like this album even more if it were harder hitting at points or evidenced more depth or layers, but maybe the lack thereof is why I'm calling this album Animal Collective for Dummies. The album also suffers a bit from having its best track--"Animal"--as its first track. When the bar is raised at the very beginning, the other songs simply can't measure up.

Blurb: If you were hesitant to join the [Animal] Collective, Miike Snow makes resistance a little less futile. :)
Grade: B

The Moondoggies: Don't Be a Stranger

I stumbled across The Moondoggies on an NPR blog detailing the "Top 11 Debut Albums of 2008." I listened to their stuff and put them on my Amazon wishlist, but my wish didn't come true until three weeks ago. Initially I dismissed The Moondoggies as a poor man's Blitzen Trapper, but after giving Don't Be a Stranger a full spin, I quickly realized the error of my ways. There are strains of BT in there, but also Dr. Dog, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Band, and even Wilco. Yes, I think their sound is that diverse.

There's just something magical about [semi-Southern] rock, summer, and a road trip. I piped this album through my stereo as I traveled to my parents' house for the 4th of July and what a glorious soundtrack Stranger proved to be. I can't think of an album I'd rather have blaring while I'm driving down the highway with the windows rolled down.

The somewhat surprising aspect of Stranger, especially since these boys are from Seattle, is the [mostly successful] employment another Southern tradition: gospel. This is most evident in the song "Jesus on the Mainline," but it feels less forced in "Save My Soul," and "Ain't No Lord," the latter of which boldly proclaims: "Ain't no Lord gonna judge me now, / Ain't no one gonna put me down, / Ain't no home to rest my bones, / Ain't no woman gonna put me down." Clearly, The Moondoggies have also embraced another Southern tradition: abusing the English language. :)


Blurb: Don't Be a Stranger is not only one of last year's best debut albums, it's one of last year's best records. Period... err, exclamation point!
Grade: A

Unfortunately, they don't have a music video, so all I could find were live performances and and a "video" ... none of these are my favorite songs:

Shotgun Stories

It seems like I went all semester without seeing a great movie. I liked Slumdog, but thought it was a bit overrated (and maybe a bit too saccharin?). Shotgun Stories, however, completely bowled me over. As soon as I finished watching it, I turned right around and watched the director's commentary. I have no clue how this slipped by big film festivals, the Oscars, and year-end lists ostensibly unnoticed and remarkably unheralded.

Shotgun Stories tells the tale of two different families: one that was abandoned by their father, another that was raised by that same formerly-fleeing father. The abandoned children were left at the mercy of their unloving mother in a working-class world, while the father's new family experienced the love, support, and relative financial prosperity that he provided.

The father dies near the film's outset (he never appears on screen), and these two previously separate worlds collide, once Son, the eldest of the three abandoned boys, speaks his mind at the father's funeral (their father's lack of devotion is most evident--but never explicitly explained--by the fact that the children have the names Son, Boy, and Kid). The other family, the ones that benefited from their father's sobriety and religious conversion, are angered by Son's disparaging eulogy, and what emerges is a modern tragedy of Shakespearean dimensions.

The film's writer and director, Jeff Nichols, grew up Arkansas and the film is set in its rural areas. The focus on the area's natural beauty, simple surroundings, and long scene transitions had me convinced that Nichols was ripping off David Gordon Green ... until I watched the commentary and found out they had been classmates at film school and DGG put his own cash into the film when he became one of its producers. Furthermore, the film's cameras and second unit were the very same that DGG employed in George Washington and perennial Cine-Men favorite, All The Real Girls. Thus, I excused Nichols from any sort of infringement into DGG's territory.

The surprise for me here was Michael Shannon, the actor that played Son. I couldn't remember seeing him in anything and the trailer actually made me a bit skeptical of his talent, but his calculated and contained rage were perfectly portrayed for what his character embodied. A minor character (that actually plays an important role) named Shampoo provided a bit of necessary laughter to offset the film's deadly serious tone.

Blurb: An absolutely outstanding piece of cinema that somehow was--and still is--under the radar. I can't wait for Jeff Nichols' next project, even though it's entitled Goat.
Grade: A+

Here's the trailer if you want:

Fanfarlo: Reservoir

So I realize I haven't blogged about any music or movies since February. Well, for the most part,I haven't had anything spectacular in either category come my way. There have been some good albums, and I probably should've blogged about Other Lives' (FKA Kunek) self-titled album (available at Amazon for $5!), but for sheer laziness I didn't do it. (By the way, that album is real, and it's spectacular.)

I came across Fanfarlo in article about bands people love that nobody knows. I was instantly smitten. Instantly. Smitten. I looked up the band and found out their album hadn't released yet, but when it became available this week, I snatched it up (only $5.99 on iTunes!). I really wanted to wait for it to come out on eMusic, but I simply couldn't wait (eMusic > Amazon > iTunes).

Describing Fanfarlo's sound is surprisingly easy: it's Beirut meets Ra Ra Riot versus Arcade Fire. I actually think that's a perfect description. These guys have been around since 2006, dropping a two-song EP each year, so I don't think they consciously took bits and/or pieces from any of the abovementioned bands (plus, Fanfarlo's first EP came out before Beirut and Ra Ra Riot debuted). However, even if Fanfarlo totally stole their sound from those bands (which, again, I don't think they did), I still wouldn't care because those are somewhat disparate sounds and they do such a great job melding them into one sound.

The lyrics are fun, playful, and downright simple at times, but it contrasts well with the complex melodies of--get this--violin, keyboard, mandolin, saw (SAW!), bass, banjo, trumpet, glockenspeil, saxophone, clarinet, and guitar. Seriously! The lyrics can also be sufficiently ambiguous, which meshes perfectly with the musical melancholia that emerges in songs like "Comets" and "If It Is Growing."

Blurb: A great mixture of the sounds of a few different bands. These guys are my new favorite.
Final Grade: A

There's no video for my favorite song ("The Walls are Coming Down," which is a dead ringer for a Zach Condon production), so here are songs for which videos are available. Enjoy (and then go buy the album!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pySzy1wepdg


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVwvozAFe8Q


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e6453HyewA

Best Music of 2008: #5-1

#5. Kings of Leon -Only by the Night
Initially I was a little disappointed with Night, but after I put it aside for a few weeks, I went back to it and it became a top-ten album. They were vaulted into the top five after I saw them in Indy a couple of weeks back (video below). This album definitely seems like it's poised for--and has already received some--mainstream success with its spic-and-span production value. There's some grit or something missing in Night. I can't quite put my fingers on it, but there's something Because of the Times had that Night lacks. However, it's still a really good album that has definitely broadened the fan base. Here's "On Call," probably my favorite song from the show.



#4. Beck - Modern Guilt
This album was conspicuously absent from most year-end lists. It got good reviews when it came out, so I can't really understand what happened. Guilt might just be my favorite Beck album (and perhaps I owe it all to producer Danger Mouse). I'm not really a fan of his '90s stuff--it's fine but purposeful dissonance has never floated my boat. Guero was one of my top albums from '05, but I was disappointed with The Information (2007), so I didn't really know what to expect when Guilt dropped back in July. I'm sure [super producer] Danger Mouse helped Beck focus to refine Guilt's sound. I also thought Beck's lyrics were stronger on Guilt than on Information. My favorite tracks are "Youthless," "Walls," "Orphans," and "Gamma Ray," the video for which is featured here (again, the video is weird... which seems to be a theme for a lot of the videos I've posted):



#3. Sigur Ros -Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust
As was the case with the Kings of Leon album, I was also initially disappointed with Med Sud. I wasn't bothered by the fact they went more accoustic with guitars or whatever, it's simply the fact that their '05 release Takk... is one of my favorite albums of all time. However, seeing Sigur Ros in concert back in September certainly gave me a new perspective on Med Sud. I still don't think it's as good as Takk..., but I like it more than ( ). "Gobledigook," "Inni Myr," and "Vid Spilum" are all five-star tracks and can hold their own against other amazing songs such as [my all-time fave] "Saeglopur", "Hoppipolla," and "Glosoli." If you ever get the chance, catch their show... it's fantastic (in the words of Flight of the Conchords, "definitely in the top three"). This outdoor performance [of "Inni Myr"] doesn't convey it, but they put on a visually spectacular show:



#2. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
Although Emma was released in 2007, it was a very limited release and I didn't stumble upon it until JagJaguar released it in February of '08. I instantly fell in love and told just about everybody that would listen to buy this album. First, Emma deals a lot with heartbreak, something I was going through at this time last year, so it got a lot of bonus points for that. But even when I listen to it today, I'm still amazed at how haunting and beautiful it remains. Justin Vernon (AKA Bon Iver) wrote and recorded most of the album on a now-famous hiatus in a Wisconsin cabin during the winter, chopping wood for heat and hunting his own food. That solitude permeates the album, but it's semi-melancholoy nature doesn't depress becuase his falsetto voice seems uplifting--even when its bellowing out a tune about lost love. I'm aleady in love with Blood Bank, and I can't wait for his next LP (although that song "Woods" seems like a cheap Imogen Heap knock off). You can also hear his song, "Bracket, WI" on the righthand side of this blog (it's part of one of the greatest for-charity compliations ever). This music video for "The Wolves" might give you a sense of Vernon's surroundings as he wrote Emma.



#1. Horse Feathers - House with no Home
For those of you keeping score at home, this is the third Portland-based band to make the list (Starf***er and Blitzen Trapper being the other two). How this album escaped every year-end list I came across seems absolutely befuddling, bemusing, bewildering, and--with all due respect--just plain dumb (what? I said with all due respect). The only good thing about their absence from those lists is that it sets mine apart from the rest of the field (a hipster requirement, to be sure), but I would've loved for them to have gotten the publicity. I was at their show in November and they produce America's most beautiful music. There's no doubt. Their music is just as hauntingly beautiful as Bon Iver, except it's got a cello and a violin... instruments that make almost any song better! :) "Curs in the Weeds" might be my favorite song from 2008. Just. Freaking. Beautiful. I also really enjoy "Working Poor," one of the faster-paced songs from Home. Here's the aforementioned "Curs":