(THIS POST ORIGINALLY APPEARS ON THE TWIN CITIES BLOG NEWEST INDUSTRY)
Andrew Bird, Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, The History Of Apple Pie, & Typsy Panthre...
Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #73!
For those of you who are new to the SOTW column, here's the story: TCDroogsma and MinneSarah are both fans of The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. They're also both opinionated and have access to computers. Seeing an opportunity to let them indulge in their MP3 habit and put them to work writing reviews we created the Songs Of The Week column. Over a year later later and here we are.
As always, we strongly suggest that you follow this link and subscribe to the podcast yourself. It's free and it's fun for the whole family!
To that end, once you've given each song a spin or two, feel free to cast a vote for your favorite song of the week in the poll to the right side of the page. The artist who accrues the most votes wins the validation that comes from winning an anonymous internet poll, arguably the loftiest height to which a modern musician can aspire.
As per tradition TCDroogsma and MinneSarah have not read each other's reviews prior to posting
So... Droogsy, Sarah... thoughts?
01. Andrew Bird - Pulaski At Night (from the album I Want To See Pulaski At Night)
TCDroogsma:
"Pulaski At Night" presents a curious case for me. Have you ever loved an artist and then, as they've toned down their weirdness/energy/exploration with age you find yourself losing interest as they settle into the "going through the motions" phase of their career (think Weezer or Jay-Z or Wilco)?
Well, I've always wanted to like Andrew Bird, but I found his "artistic exploration" to be unfulfilling & his artistic quirks mostly pointless & annoying. With "Pulaski At Night," all of that stupid bullshit has been reined in. What we're left with is essentially Andrew-Bird-By-Numbers. Now, for the type of awful people who enjoy Andrew Bird records, this is probably a disappointing turn. For those of us who have never been able to sit throgh an entire Andrew Bird record without wanting to jam needles in our ears, "Pulaski At Night" is just the type of relatively straight forward pop song that makes the guy seem tolerable. There's just enough quirky turns to keep the song interesting, enough hooks to keep the song kicking around my head for awhile, and not one moment that causes me to roll my eyes. That's all I've ever wanted from the guy.
MinneSarah:
"Pulaski at Night" is a commercially polished example of the acoustic indie that floods this podcast. Mr. Bird has been the king of this genre since the aughts, and this song makes it clear why he is still reigning. As any casual reader of my reviews can surmise, this genre does nothing for me. Sometimes I turn on The Current and feel it has become an Andrew Bird marathon. But, I'll give credit where credit is due, and "Pulaski at Night" seamlessly blends Bird's melancholy vocals with upbeat guitar and bass and playful violins. The lyrics reference a move to/from Pulaski and Chicago, which affirms hipster cred as Pulaski is a tiny town in Virginia and Chicago is the comeback kid of metropolitan cities. The song locks down night/day homesick yearning. Would I listen to it on my own - never. Will this song be on the Current the next time I tune in - we can start waging bets in the comments.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 3.5/5
MinneSarah: 3/5
02. Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - Ain't No Chimneys In The Projects (from the album Soul Time)
TCDroogsma:
This is the second year in a row that MinneSarah & I have been tasked with reviewing a Christmas song after the holiday has passed. Let me tell you, once Christmas has passed, the last thing you want to do is listen to Christmas music.
"Ain't No Chimneys In The Projects" is pretty much every Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings song you've ever heard. If you're already a fan then you know exactly what I mean. If you're not totally buying the whole retro-soul package, "Ain't No Chimneys..." is nothing special.
I tend to side with the latter. Credit where it's due: Jones & The Dap Kings certainly give a hell of a performance. Jones, in particular, handles the relatively pointless lyrics with such conviction that it makes me retroactively question her performances on non-Christmas songs. Few musicians today are able to flip the "on" switch quite like Jones.
MinneSarah:
It's the holidays! Well it was when these songs came out, and what better Christmas Eve song than Sharon Jones crooning a slightly unconventional Christmas tune?
"Ain't No Chimneys" is a soulful lament to the Santa charade. I'm a little confused as to whether her listener base is the 50% of Americans that grew up with a fireplace (I did my research) or the 50% that didn't. I remember a Christmas in San Diego where I asked the same question of my dad, in his tiny bachelor apartment. The questions stopped pretty quickly when Santa delivered the whole action figure set of She-Ra in one fell swoop from what I could only imagine was the patio doors. Another interesting phenomenon was that reality at my mother's house, also chimney-less, was that Mrs. Claus was divorced from Santa and delivered presents to other divorced mothers on their front porches a week before the custody agreement sent them to their father's bachelor pads in San Diego.
Jones claims that this Christmas helped her see what a superhero her mom really was - keeping up those Santa appearances to keep the dream alive in her daughter. Everyone's holiday experience is different - just be happy that by the time you read this - the holidays are over.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 2/5
MinneSarah: 3/5
03. The History Of Apple Pie - Tug (from the album Out Of View)
TCDroogsma:
I was actually kind of excited to see The History Of Apple Pie in this week's songs. I'd never heard them before, but my Last.fm page has had them under my "Recommended Artists" column for quite some time now. I was especially excited because they ended up said column "Because you listened to Veronica Falls."
Well, that certainly turned out to be a mistake. I suppose it's not totally THOAP's fault that I'm comparing them a group that is "similar" in the sense that they both play guitars & have female leads. Veronica Falls thrives on bold vocals, power-pop hooks , and clever, self-deprecating vocals. THOAP replaces all three of those things with a sheen of fuzz that leaves the song sounding half-formed and claustrophobic. As much as I'm typically down for some good shoegaze, songs like "Tug" stand as a reminder just how difficult it can be to master the genre.
MinneSarah:
This is the fuzziest of fuzz rock songs that I've heard in a while. The sweet vocals are drowned out by all the fuzzy guitars - making it sound like a live show. Not many songs have such prominent guitars, and this is both a blessing and a curse for "Tug." Those missing the 90's may long for such guitar driven ode to the 60's. For me, it crosses the line from nostalgic hum to constant and, at times, piercing, and while I can't say constant is a bad thing, it doesn't make for a lot of re-listens. Pity, I always want to love guitar-centric British bands.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 2.5/5
MinneSarah: 2/5
04. Typsy Panthre - Claudine (from the album Korda Komp 2)
TCDroogsma:
Trying to review songs that are sung in a different language is always a curious exercise. Considering I don't speak a word of French, the vocals in "Claudine" essentially become just another instrument. They're delivered brightly over a canvas of a humming bass, acoustic guitar strums, and some keyboard-based affectations, creating the atmosphere of a love song. Of course, years of listening to clever songwriters deliver barbed jabs over upbeat pop leave me with my suspicions as to just what this "Claudine" is all about.
Still, the song is brilliantly executed (think The Magnetic Fields at their most fully realized). Even if you have no idea what the song's about, "Claudine" stands up as an expertly crafted pop song, thoroughly enjoyable in any language.
MinneSarah:
Local bands that sound like the bands I was introduced to on vacation in Montreal? Did Minneapolis turn Quebec hipster over the past year?
"Claudine" brings me back to my hearty Quebecquois phase - not just because the vocals are in French, but the slow keyboard build and upbeat yet sad feeling (is that just because the lyrics are sung in French?). While nothing else I found from the band is sung in French, I think this song is a beautiful example of the band's range. I love anything with keyboards, I love undulating pop songs, and I love songs that take you out of your present. This song does all those things and is aurally gorgeous.
Final Score - TCDroogsma: 3.5/5
MinneSarah: 4/5
Well there you have it, MP3 junkies! Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, & filed away!
As always, please keep in mind that neither Newest Industry nor our contributors are in any way affiliated with the artists above, The Current, or MPR. We're just music fans with laptops and a bit too much time on our hands.
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