Culture Greyhound

Today I begin a new series of posts dedicated to the best albums of the last decade, posting analysis of one album at a time.

50. The New Pornographers – Electric Version

While Mass Romantic introduced the world to a phenomenal Canadian supergroup, Electric Version transformed the New Pornographers into a solid band all on their own, never mind that the crew consists of some of indie rock’s finest.  Carl Newman’s and Neko Case’s vocal trade-offs provide the highlights for this unforgettable 2003 disc, mostly written by Newman, though Dan Bejar contributed a few memorable nuggets of his own, particularly “Testament to Youth In Verse.”  Still, the gems here are both Newman-penned and Case-sung, including the masterpiece “The Laws Have Changed” and the single “All For Swinging You Around,” which featured an incredible jump-rope music video.

Electric Version gave the already-superb pop craftsmanship of Carl Newman a new standard to beat, and he would rise to the challenge and come close to matching his best with 2005’s Twin Cinema.  Still, this, the New Pornographers’ sophomore effort, is their finest, an earnest, hook-laden, beautiful album that is impossible to stop listening to.

The New Pornographers – The Electric Version

The New Pornographers – The Laws Have Changed

The New Pornographers – All For Swinging You Around

Corin Tucker, formerly of Sleater-Kinney fame, has released her first solo album with her new backing group, and while the results arguably aren’t as revolutionary as the work she put in with her seminal 90’s band, the music is still memorable.

The title track, in particular, shows 1000 Years as an album revealing a revered musician trying brave new things.  The screech of the riot grrl sound is minimal here, as the disc opens with a soft, acoustic-led song and moves to the poppy, jumpy “Half a World Away.”  Still, Tucker’s earnest vocals remain the same, even if she’s well out of her comfort zone.

Her past certainly is utilized, however, but only to further her progression – we can hear the loud punk attitude bleed through this mostly soft, introspective effort, as in tracks “Doubt” and “Riley.”  The ending product, however, is kin of maturation and experimentation rather than merely resembling a strong Kinney B-side.  The ending track, “Miles Away,” is a soulful piano number with a bright Tori Amos quality.

The slower, softer approach may be jarring for some SK purists, but she has certainly come a long way with her sound, and there are still some loud moments that give us an idea of where Corin Tucker has been and, something more exciting, where she’s headed.

The Corin Tucker Band – 1,000 Years

The Corin Tucker Band – Half A World Away

The Corin Tucker Band – Doubt

Dam-Funk – Hood Pass Intact (featuring MC Eiht)

source

Lloyd Banks – Start It Up

source

Avey Tare – Lucky 1

source

Gauntlet Hair – Out, Don’t..

source

Wolf Gang – Lions In Cages

source

Last night, while winding down from an amazing evening watching Monsters of Folk at Stubb’s (M. Ward is god, for those not in the know), my friend Derin, acting as evening DJ for our small party, put on the album above – the successful 1981 debut from Men At Work.  It was a wise selection.

Business As Usual is best known for the hits “Who Can It Be Now?” and the would-be litigious nightmare “Down Under.”  It is one of the most successful albums of the early 1980’s (in good company with a little album called Thriller), selling 15 million albums worldwide, 6 million of those stateside.  In the US alone, Business As Usual spent a surprising 15 weeks at #1, and Men At Work remain the only Australian band to score the #1 song (“Down Under”) and #1 album in America simultaneously.

The album is heralded as an 80’s pop classic, obviously, and for good reason.  Main songwriter Colin Hay could certainly craft a pop gem (with the occasional help, it should be noted, from Ron Strykert and Greg Ham) and the album’s contribution to the then-burgeoning New Wave sound is unmatched.

Men At Work – Who Can It Be Now?

Men At Work – Down Under

Men At Work – Be Good Johnny

Today I continue my ongoing feature showcasing my personal picks for the best songs of the past decade, posting ten songs at a time.

150. Kanye West – Stronger

The Daft Punk-sampling first single from Graduation not only showed a compelling progression in West’s production, but it showcased his always-improving lyrical prowess.  Kanye’s known for his incessant bragging and unfathomable ego, but with beats and words this precise, this banging, this funny, he continued the consistency of delivering on his Cassius Clay-channeling talk.

Continue reading

Whatever Happened to Alternative Nation? Part 1 – 1990

How the Left Alienated Millions of Americans

Every Song That Apple Has Ever Used for Advertising

1. The Crowds

As with any major festival, there are thousands of people clamoring around each other in a heated, sun-screened swarm of deck chairs, umbrellas, flags, and people who actually want to see bands and elbow their way to the front.  Bottom line: there’s way too many fucking people to have any sort of intimacy with the performer you’re watching.  Chances are, you’re probably just watching them because you are NOT missing whoever’s next from far away.  A word of advice for ACL virgins: stick with someone ALWAYS because you may never see them again if you lose them.  Find a meeting place, a landmark, and forget about your cell phone working.  It will not. Especially if you’re on AT&T.

Continue reading

The now-elder-statesmen of the Chapel Hill music scene (and the currently immensely popular indie rock machine), Superchunk have been off the radar for a while now.  Majesty Shredding is the group’s ninth album and their first in nine years.  While the band didn’t break up, they certainly have been busy with other projects (namely the cash cow Merge Records, which was founded by a portion of the group).  But while the terms previously used to describe the band’s sound -“indie,” “emo,” “power pop”- have changed since their 90’s heyday, they certainly haven’t.

And so we could surmise that time apart is, indeed, healthy – Majesty Shredding is one of the sharpest-sounding and hook-laden CDs of this year, and probably the strongest of Superchunk’s career.  It’s more energetic than anything most of Merge’s current roster could muster up, and it shows a mature, seminal 90’s band injecting a little perspective into today’s musical state.  The sound, for the most part, hasn’t changed, so how do they make it sound so fresh?  The answer is the same as it was then – no one does it like Superchunk.

Superchunk – Digging For Something

Superchunk – My Gap Feels Weird

Superchunk – Rosemarie