MUSIC THREAD

On Andy Greenwald's and Chris Ryan's Grantland podcast the hosts were speculating that if Kurt Vile or The War On Drugs were willing to make a more commercially appealing album and be a tad less ponderous, either could create something like Petty's Full Moon Fever.

That was an interesting thought. Even more interesting is whether Full Moon Fever would even sell well these days.

 

I quite like them. The female co-lead, Noelle Scaggs, is a ridiculous talent.

And, as alluded to earlier, they could drop off the face tomorrow and still have accomplished more than Foster The People ever have. (And I loved FTP's only hit they will ever have.)

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I still have "Back To The Bars" in heavy rotation.

 

It's funny you bring that up because, I was just reading this Hyden Grantland column the other day: http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/the-war-on-drugs-gets-ready-to-play-the-big-rooms/

Even more so because Petty is also releasing a new album soon.

I think it's so hard to predict what's going to sell these days, at least in terms of what "indie-rock" groups will break through. Even that term is pretty meaningless. I thought this column was a pretty interesting take on it: http://www.stereogum.com/1506632/deconstructing-haim-lorde-and-the-monogenre/franchises/deconstructing/

 

I like Walkin' on a Pretty Daze more. The guitarwork is better.

 

Agreed.

I was listening to the extended version of Snowflakes the other day, and the :30 coda at the end is just terrific.

 

A friend of mine runs a music vote each year where we submit our favorite songs or albums based on whatever the criteria is that year. For instance, last year it was our favorite songs with the name of a place in the title. All the songs that were submitted three times or more went on to a final round where we all met at a bar and voted on the ones that made it through to see which songs were the favorites of the group. No big stakes, but a fun diversion each year. This year is the 10-year anniversary of him running it, and so we're going big - our top 15 albums of all-time. While it's going to be overwhelming to decide, the good part is I'll spend the next month listening to great albums; listened to Me Against the World last night and London Calling so far today.

I'd be interested to see what some of the lists would look like from people here. I know Versatile already has one put together.

 

My top four are pretty much set in stone for the rest of my life. They've probably consumed a good 10 percent of my waking hours.

1. Highway 61 Revisited, Bob Dylan
2. Blonde on Blonde, Bob Dylan
3. Kid A, Radiohead
4. Remain In Light, The Talking Heads
5. Abbattoir Blue/Lyre of Orpheus, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
6. Quadrophenia, The Who
7. Bringing It All Back Home, Bob Dylan
8. Funeral, Arcade Fire
9. Nebraska, Bruce Springsteen
10. Slanted & Enchanted, Pavement
11. At Folsom Prison, Johnny Cash
12. Sound of Silver, LCD Soundsystem
13. Boxer, The National
14. OK Computer, Radiohead
15. Time Out of Mind, Bob Dylan

 

This is fun...and hard. The first five can be pretty interchangeable in terms of the top spot; each one has been very important to me for one reason or another at some point in my life. The Moon and Antarctica is at the top right now, simply because I've been in a pondering/questioning mood of late, and that album is perfect for that. I struggled with OK Computer. I am an avowed Radiohead fanboy, and I love the band and the album, although I don't listen to it much anymore compared to Kid A or The Bends. At the time I listened to it (I discovered Radiohead in high school in 2002) it was such a huge gateway album for me, so in that sense it will always be hugely important.

1. Modest Mouse- The Moon and Antarctica
2. Radiohead- The Bends
3. Silver Jews- The Natural Bridge
4. The National- Boxer (Slow Show is probably my favorite song of all time...)
5. Radiohead- Kid A
6. Wilco- Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
7. TV on the Radio- Return to Cookie Mountain
8. Calexico- Feast of Wire
9. Bonnie "Prince" Billy- I See a Darkness
10. Arcade Fire- Funeral
11. M83- Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts
12. Drive by Truckers- The Dirty South
13. Bob Dylan- Highway 61 Revisited
14. Modest Mouse- The Lonesome Crowded West
15. Radiohead- OK Computer

 

1. Prince, Purple Rain
2. Nas, Illmatic
3. Notorious B.I.G., Ready to Die
4. Bruce Springsteen, Darkness on the Edge of Town
5. Weezer, Pinkerton
6. Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run
7. GZA, Liquid Swords
8. The Clash, London Calling
9. Beach Boys, Pet Sounds
10. Guns N' Roses, Appetite For Destruction
11. The Who, Who's Next
12. Michael Jackson, Thriller
13. The Beatles, Rubber Soul
14. OutKast, Aquemini
15. Radiohead, The Bends

I've dropped Thriller a little in the past couple years because of how terribly it was sequenced.

 

Trouble Will Find Me is better than Boxer, you guys.

 

I'll admit that Trouble Will Find Me has grown on me in recent months (as most National albums do), but Boxer still surpasses it. Even though Slow Show is my favorite song, I think Ada is the most perfect song on the album; it encapsulates everything I love about the National.

Matt's writing is incredible in terms of building and developing a character and a scene, and the wordplay is tremendous (Stand inside an empty tuxedo With grapes in my mouth, waiting for Ada...). Musically it's just stunning. Bryan Devendorf has more standout drumming songs (Brainy), but I love the way in Ada his drumming perfectly complements the piano part played by Sufjan Stevens. The National are also great at using horns on the album, and Ada in particular. When they come in they don't blare, they almost sigh, easing into the song.

I enjoy the National because they write songs that develop for me over time. Musically, new details will emerge to me even if I've listened to an album many times. Lyrically, Matt's writing is fun to analyze and think about. And that's what I think really sets Boxer apart for me. Trouble Will Find Me is by far his most direct album lyrically, he's writing in broad strokes, and on one hand that's great, but there's a specificity to the writing on Boxer that allows me to get inside a character's head.

After all that, I'm now listening to Trouble Will Find Me again because I really do like it.

 

I've said this before, but in terms of the soundscape, Sad Songs for Dirty Lovers and Alligator are my favorite National albums. I prefer the angrier, slightly unpolished version of The National to the more polished versions that came after. Abel and Mr. November are probably my two favorite songs by them.