When I posted Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros’ ‘Home’ last year some time, I really enjoyed the song. Unfortunately I did not much care much for the remainder of the album as a whole due to its unevenness and varied sounds. At some point late last year I learned that the lead singer of the band, Edward Sharpe, is actually the former lead singer of the band Ima Robot, and is otherwise known as Alex Ebert. I only have a cursory knowledge of his previous band, but what I read and listened to from his previous outfit was not very impressive. And it also had the side effect of souring his Magnetic Zeros album a bit further. Though it didn’t quite ruin ‘Home,’ it certainly tainted the authenticity and soul of the lyrics. At the time I wrote about it originally, I compared ‘Home’ to Slow Club’s ‘Christmas TV,’ now I’ve rethought the comparison and wonder if that wasn’t exactly what Ebert was going for. Perhaps I’m wrong, but playing the soulful hippie with ‘The Zeros’ after perpetrating an Ima Robot album upon the world smacks of disingenuousness.
I’m sure most everyone has heard the original track by now, but we caught wind a while back of this remix. The remix actually doesn’t do all that much for me, but besides myself I still enjoy the original.
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Home (mp3) from Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros – Home (RAC Mix) (mp3)
My girlfriend and I ordered HBO specifically to watch Entourage, but have kept it to watch True Blood, and now – How To Make It In America (and The Pacific, but that isn’t as relevant to this blog.) The show is not anything particularly mind-blowing, but the characters are enjoyable – particularly Cam – and it’s entertaining overall. If you haven’t seen it, it’s basically about 2 guys who are trying to break into fashion in NYC by starting a denim line. Kid Cudi has a part in it as well, but he’s on the periphery for most of the show.
But the real revelation for me has been the Aloe Blacc song that’s used in the opening credits – “I Need a Dollar.” It’s a burner of a track, with punctuated horns and Blacc’s mournful baritone. It’s a modern-day spiritual. Blacc is another artist on Stones Throw (with another excellent name) whose second album Good Things will be released sometimes in 2010. After hearing this, that album should be on everyone’s radar.
Aloe Blacc – I Need a Dollar (mp3) from the forthcoming Good Things
I’ve never been a fan of The National, and that’s nobody’s fault but mine. The band’s vocals just sound so fucking bored all the time. I realize that is a kind of a difficult feat to accomplish – the ability to not seem as if you care despite the fact that you are, in fact, emoting – but when I hear The National do it, I’m unresponsive.
I didn’t like Boxer
despite its widespread acclaim, and after listening to “Bloodbuzz Ohio,” I’m struck by the same “is this it” feeling. Because of the impending outpouring of web rips, new tracks from the band, and overall anticipation for its release, I’m sure I’ll listen to more than enough of High Violet to form a better opinion of the album, but I can’t envision buying it if it’s all this blasé.
The National – Bloodbuzz Ohio (mp3) from the forthcoming High Violet
I drop to under six hundred minutes left in this project with my two selections today. I’m learning it is incredibly difficult to type with a baby on the desk that is kicking the keyboard of my laptop, so if any typos are overlooked blame the baby. Onwards.
98. The Besnard Lakes – For Agent 13 (mp3) from The Besnard Lakes Are The Dark Horse
(5:12) [Time Remaining: 596:36]
This song was my introduction to the swelling, atmospheric sounds of The Besnard Lakes. Yet another product of Montreal that I happen to adore, The Besnard Lakes fit one aspect of my music tastes perfectly; I love slow songs that take their time in building to an emotional and sonic point of eruption. This song just happens to do it beautifully as well.
99. Tokyo Police Club – Graves (mp3) from Elephant Shell
(2:35) [Time Remaining: 594:01]
I’ve given it time for the preoccupancy to wane. Perhaps weighty lyrics within an all too familiar pop/punk setting such as this can be somewhat forgettable or easily dismissed. Tokyo Police Club had a ton of heat based on their multiple introductory EP’s coming into their first album’s release, and to music critics it seemed like a lot of that was lost with such a serviceable album as Elephant Shell. I disagreed in 2008 as I chose it to be my favorite album of the year, and this particular track as my favorite song as well. I thought perhaps I would fall off the wave of populism and forget about the album like critics assumed I would, but then I hear this song and just have to turn it up.
Consider this week the proverbial calm before next week’s storm of good new music. There are still a couple of compelling releases, however, with the new one from Angus & Julia Stone, the new EP from Annuals, and the US release of Slow Club’s Yeah So.
