It's the Opposite of Hallelujah

Jens Lekman is releasing his highly anticipated new album stateside on October 9th. I’ve been waiting for new material from him since his performance at last year’s Pitchfork Music Festival, which most agree was a huge highlight. One of the songs on the album is “The Opposite of Hallelujah”, a song that first appeared on a hard-to-find EP from 2005.

The song mixes everything I love about Jens. It has the melancholy instrumentation of strings and piano, Jens classic deadpan vocal delivery, and witty lyrics. The chorus is fantastic, featuring a Jens falsetto, some of the background vocals that his “maidens” do so well, and a melody that was made in heaven. The strings are what really stand out in this song though, as they carry the melody and add their unique touches throughout (the crescendo at 3:40 is so gorgeous). This, along with the sweet sounds of the upbeat, tempo-changing first single, “Friday Night at the Drive-In Bingo” and the bootlegs of the half spoken/half sung live favorite “A Postcard to Nina”, are just enough to hold me over till October.

MP3 The Opposite of Hallelujah (taken down by request)
MP3 Friday Night At the Drive-In Bingo
MP3 A Postcard to Nina (live)

It's official – Creed is worse.

I expected this to be a bit more even of a match-up (link here), but the people have spoken and named Creed as the worse of the two awful bands. Scott Stapp and his group of post-grunge Christian rockers racked up 29 votes (74%) while nu-metal “band”, Limp Bizkit only managed only 9 votes (26%). As always, Feel free to leave ideas for the next match-up in the comments. Here’s some excerpts from some of the most notable comments on both sides of the argument:

Creed is worse:

“To me, it’s like comparing a serial killer (Limp Bizkit) to an act of genocide (Creed). On a per case basis, Creed might be less heinous than LB, but their acts were much more widespread, therefore crowning them as the worst of the worst.” – oflannabhra

“Think of it this way: There are bad movies that are still fun to watch (Showgirls) and there are bad movies that are just plain bad (Gigli?). Creed, if put to celluloid, would be the latter….If that doesn’t work for ya’ then consider this: If Creed hadn’t sold so many records, Nickelback might not still be on the radio today.” – D3

“The Creed guy thinks he’s Jesus. Lots of people mistakenly think they’re edgy, but it takes a special kind of crazy to think you’re the son of God. And he *flaunts* it, too. That’s all “Arms Wide Open” was; it was Creed Guy singing, ‘it’s cool guys, i’m here now, begin commencement of the apocalypse.'” – victoria

Limp Bizkit is worse:

“Creed is harmless. Annoying, yet harmless. Creed’s music is practically elevator music. My body reflexively drowns it out. Limp Bizkit’s “music” bypasses those filters, leaving me with that urge to regurgitate.” – Tim

“Sure, Creed was horribly overplayed – but some of those songs that were cranked on the radio: “Higher” “My Own Prison” are actually filled with hooks and would not be as repulsive if played by someone else. Limp Bizkit, however, is a horrible idea that may have seemed original at the time ‘Let’s mix the worst genre’s together to make a super-terrible-genre.'” – Anon

MP3 Creed – One Last Breath

If you missed the previous Who’s Worse contests, here’s how they looked:
Creed vs. Limp Bizkit (Creed wins)
Staind vs. Puddle of Mudd (Staind wins)
Hoobastank vs. Maroon 5 (Hoobastank wins)

Best. Simpsons Episodes. Ever

During it’s golden age (roughly seasons 4-9), there was no show on TV that was more consistently funny than The Simpsons. In honor of the Simpsons Movie’s release, I’m going to list some of my favorite episodes, occasionally adding an MP3 from the show in. Feel free to agree/disagree and add some of your own favorite episodes in the comments. Make sure to follow the link to see the whole list!

Trilogy of Error

This one is probably my favorite of the post-golden age era Simpsons episodes. It has a very unique Tarintino-like storytelling concept where the episode is told from three different perspectives and it also delivers some hilarious gags like 123 Fake Street, Linguo the grammar robot, and the undercover illegal fireworks ring. It also contains the Flanders’ reading of Harry Potter, “and then Harry Potter, and all his wizard friends, went straight to Hell for practicing witchcraft”.

MP3 Theme from Run Lola Run

King Size Homer

Although the characterization and plot of this episode are overall a bit sub-par, I find it brings some of the biggest laughs. The scene where Homer’s trying to figure out how to use a computer (“To start press any key. Where’s the any key?”) cracks me up everytime.

Trash of the Titans

The milestone episodes are usually a let-down to me, but this 200th episode is suberb. It begins with a fun little sequence where the local department store invents a new holiday (“love day”) to boost sales. From there comes Homer’s battle with the garbage men and eventually running for Santitation Commisioner against Ray Patterson, played by Steve Martin. Eventually the town gets so run down with garbage that the entire town has to move five miles down the road. The plot is pretty ridiculous, but it makes for some great scenes (The Candyman Can song is hysterical). The U2 show scenes are also a big highlight, showcasing the band’s most over-the-top tour, Popmart.

MP3 The Garbage Man Can

The Last Temptation of Homer

This is a classic episode where Michelle Pfeiffer guest stars as an attractive woman who works with Homer and shares many common interests with him. The episode is not only hilarious (the examine your scalp for ringworm commercial gets me everytime) but offers some great insight into the character of Homer and his relationship with Marge.

A Fish Named Selma

An episode focuses completely on the character of Troy McClure. How could that not be amazing? Troy marries Selma to try to dispel some rumors about a romantic abnormality (“I thought you said Troy McClure was dead?” “No I said, he sleeps with the fishes”). It’s a great satire on Hollywood, but mostly notable for the Planet of the Apes Musical, which goes down as one of my favorite scenes of all time.

MP3 Stop the Planet of the Apes

Homerpalooza

This episode is a dead-on sendup of youth culture and the alternative music scene with Homer trying to rediscover his coolness by taking his kids to Hullabulooza. The guest stars are also some of the best the show has seen and provide for some pretty humorous scenes (“Billy Corgan, Smashing Pumpkins. Homer Simpsons, smiling politely”). The Homer flashbacks are also a big highlight.

MP3 Smashing Pumpkins – Zero

Marge vs. the Monorail

This Conan O’Brien penned episode has always been a favorite of mine. The Musical Man parody at the town hall meeting (i love when they’re all whispering “monorail. monorail.”) and the scenes where Homer training to become a monorail conductor are brilliant. The Leonard Nimroy cameo is another excellent moment.

MP3 Monorail

Bishop Allen & The Broken String

Bishop Allen are one of those type of bands that blogs can’t keep their hands off of, quirky happy indie pop that’s basically impossible to dislike. It might have been me trying to break away from the norm, that I haven’t mentioned the band until now. After giving the band’s new album a full listen though, I’m ready to make a full-fledged jump on the bandwagon. The Broken String is a fantastic album and it has great repeat value (I’ve repeated it as many as three times in a row at work). It’s quickly growing to become one of my favorite albums of the year. One of the benefits that the band has from making all those EPs last year, is that they’ve created a very consistent album. Absolutely no filler whatsoever here, it almost sounds like a greatest hits album from the band, and the new arrangements on the songs are a big improvement (in my opinion).

The album starts with the triumphant sounding “The Monitor”, a song that like many of the albums best, begins modestly and builds to an excellent climax. When Rice sings, “When I break another string / and continue to sing / is that courage? / I’m not sure”, he does so with so much sincerity that you can’t help but be moved. “Rain” has a mixture of awesome quirky percussion, shuffling guitar, and an impossibly catchy chorus. The fact that it gets you moving, only furthers its status as a surefire hit for the indie crowd. “Click Click Click Click” is like the musical equivalent of an adorable baby kitten. It’s the kind of sweet and innocent song that could melt the heart of even the sourest of people.

My favorites actually come in the middle of album, the biggest highlight perhaps being “Flight 180”. The track starts unassumingly with some simple acoustic guitar and shaky vocals, but just as you’re being introduced to the bittersweet narrative, you’re hit with the line “If you feel like dancing / dance with me” and swooned with some of the most perfectly placed strings that I can think of. The remainder of the track is a completely euphoric experience with crashing tympanis, lush piano, yearning lyrics, and more of those well-placed strings. “Like Castanets” picks up where this song left off, utilizing some more beautiful instrumentation (in this case, spanish guitar and a saxophone solo) and “Butterfly Nets” is a heartwarming tune that lets a female vocalist take over the reins.

To latter half of the album, has just as many gems as the first, starting with the epic tale of the band’s piano in “Corazon”, the rocking British Invasion throwback tune “Middle Management”, and ending with the piano pop / folk song, “The News From Your Bed”. The album is an unbelievable accomplishment for Bishop Allen and it’s a sigh of relief for those who think they’ve been let down by blog buzz bands lately. I give it one of my highest recommendations of the year.

MP3 Rain
MP3 Flight 180

I Rock Cleveland has another great review of the album.
Buy it here.

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The Darjeeling Limited trailer is out, and by the looks of things, Wes Anderson has done it again. Go watch it right away. “How can the train be lost… it’s on rails”

Through The Sparks

It’s a shame I’ve kept this band to myself so long, because they’ve really been one of my favorite musical discoveries this summer. Through The Sparks has a simmering pop sound mixing doses of piano, synths, and other pretty instruments with a more conventional guitar rock. The results are pretty spectacular, the album (titled Lazarus Beach) contains far more hits than it does misses.

The biggest highlight for me is the second track, “Mexico (Every Last Buffalo)”. Lyrically, the song cleverly tackles American imperialism in the space-age and musically, it sounds like a mix of 70’s singer/songwriter material with some modern piano rock influences. I have to agree with the Pitchfork reviewer, that the “shake it off” part of the song, sounds an awful lot like Spoon, in a very good way. The band’s vocals sometime sound like an echo-y David Bowie, probably best exemplified on “The Final If and When.” At it’s core it’s a bouncy piano pop song, but with dense blanket of sounds (background aaahs, sparse electric guitar, bells and synths) that all come together beautifully. Take a listen, I’m pretty sure you’ll love it.

MP3 Mexico (Every Last Buffalo)
MP3 The Final If and When

Buy the album
Listen to more at myspace

Fionn Regan

One of the biggest surprises of this year’s Mercury Prize nominations was the inclusion of Irish folkie, Fionn Regan. He was also chosen to open up one of the mainstages at Austin City Limits (where I’ll hopefully be seeing him). After giving The End of History a listen, though, these selections makes perfect sense. The album is full of heartfelt and completely charming folk songs with colorful imagery and gorgeous vocals. It also helps that the man is a fingerpicking master (check out the beginning of The Underwood Typewriter).

My favorite song on the album is “Put a Penny in the Slot”, which to me is the definition of the intimate folk song. Fionn talk/sings the song with sparse acoustic guitar in the background but for such a modest approach to a song, there’s something about the melody and lyrics that grab you. As the song continues the lyrics become even more heartbreaking, and a female voice is added to the mix. “The Underwood Typewriter”, other than the incredible fretwork that I mentioned earlier, showcases more of the artist’s simple and sparse approach to songwriting. Light percussion and a single violin line are added to the song at the appropriate places, but the marriage of the acoustic guitar and voice are never intruded upon, a technique that makes the song as refreshing as it does beautiful.

MP3 Put a Penny in the Slot
MP3 The Underwood Typewriter

Klaxons – Live @ Pitchfork + Festival Videos

Tired of Pitchfork Fest coverage yet? Well, this is the last post on the subject for a long time, and I have some great bands to cover starting next week.

After an incredible Of Montreal set, I decided to chill out a the Balance Stage for a bit. I caught the end of The Field which was a hit or miss for me. I like what I’ve heard of his recent album, but the live translation was a bit too mellow for my liking. The reason, I was there though, was to see British dance/punk/rave kids, Klaxons. For reasons unknown, the band took the stage a half an hour after schedule, but once they did it was immediate hysteria. “The Bouncer” / “Atlantis to Interzone” kicked off the night and I literally moved from midway through the crowd to four rows from the band in a couple minutes. The whole place was going insane with energy (no doubt reserved from the previous show and 30 minute wait).

The Brits didn’t let up, exhausting their catalogue of high octane song after song from Myths of the Near Future, and for once on the Balance Stage the sound was working great. The atmosphere of the show was great, I got sprayed with water more than a few times and the crowd-surfing/mosh-pit going on was undeniably fun. There was one dude with a nice looking SLR camera that was crowd-surfing AND taking pictures (very risky but also pretty awesome). Klaxons ended with two of their best, “It’s Not Over” and “Four Horsemen” before bowing out for the night. If you ever see Klaxons live, prepare for a non-stop riot, because this band brings the party.

MP3 Atlantis to Interzone

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I’ve been uploading some videos I shot at Pitchfork Fest and youtubin’ them along the way. Follow the link and you can watch some of the best ones.

Of Montreal – Live @ Pitchfork

Going into Pitchfork Fest, my most anticipated act was undoubtedly Of Montreal. Having already seen the band, my expectations were set very high. And after waiting in the crowd for two hours (although Jamie Lidell was surprisingly great), I was anxious to dance around. Luckily, the band came to impress, and they also came with some of the most bizarre and just plain weird stuff that I’ve ever seen on stage.

The first song the band played was “Suffer For Fashion” and let me tell you, being in the middle of hundreds fans all singing “We’ll all go down together”, is pretty life affirming experience. The first part of the band’s set included other Hissing Fauna faves, “Bunny Ain’t No Kind Of Rider” and “She’s A Rejector” (the latter featuring Kevin’ brother in a jumpsuit tearing up paper and throwing a fit). It also included a new song “Softcore” that seemed to go over pretty well within the crowd. It wasn’t until the 12 minute epic “The Past Is A Grotesque Animal” was played though, that the fun really started.

Kevin Barnes came out during the song (after a short musical interlude) in a Biker Daddy Leather Lingerie costume (very PG-13 of him), and he was joined by a man wearing a fat suit and a head that looked like golden, melted Captain Crunch with pictures of himself stuck on his head. If this wasn’t enough of a visual the Late B.P. Helium pressed himself right up to the subwoofer during the song creating some crazy feedback. By this time, things had gotten too bizarre to handle almost, but Of Montreal somehow topped themselves again with “Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse”.

During Heimdalsgate (my favorite on Hissing Fauna), The fat suit gold-headed man, took a bowl of jelly while Nina Barnes (dressed in a golden catsuit, of course) scooped it out and poured it all over his head. They were even so kind as to scoop some into plastic bowls and hand the jelly out to the crowd (it was too spicy for my liking). Oh yea, the song was pretty awesome too. Some may argue that stunts like this take away from the musical aspect of the show, but as you can probably can expect the band was on fire musically, and the visuals added just the right amount of eye candy to go with the sound.

The rest of the show is a bit of a blur to me, but the band closed with the always fantastic “The Party’s Crashing Us” (with Darth Vader popping confetti balloons over the crowd) and then the band got a bit Kinky with the cover song “All Day and All Night” for encore. I don’t think there’s a more entertaining or just plain wild show that I’ve ever seen. I hope Of Montreal never stops making music and Kevin’s imagination gets even more bizarre. I’ll even accept some more Outback commercials, as long as the band continues to put on live shows like this one.

MP3 She’s A Rejector

The Sea and Cake – Live @ Pitchfork

Although I was a bit unsure how The Sea and Cake’s mellow style would translate live, my friend Adam insisted that we see them. Whatever my reservations were about the set, were all but vanquished once the band started playing. The veteran musicians are ridiculously tight on stage, even if the vocals were a bit lackluster compared to the album (could have been a sound problem). The mostly played material off their latest album, Everybody, such as “Exact To Me”, “Crossing Line”, “Up On Crutches”, and “Middlenight” but it was their early stuff (“The Biz”, “Jacking The Ball”) that was most exciting to me and the rest of the crowd.

Although the guitar work was pretty great during the set, it didn’t compare to the brilliance of the drummer for the band, John McEntire. He has a very active and colorful drumming style, that’s very fun to watch. The band was quite congenial on-stage also, wishing someone in the crowd a happy birthday and joking that they “hardly ever go outside, much less play outside”. Overall, it was one of my favorite sets of the day, and a strong motivator for me to listen to their albums a few more times (Everybody gets better on every listen).

MP3 Up On Crutches

The Ponys – Live @ Pitchfork

The Pony’s were the first band I saw on Sunday at Pitchfork Music Festival (for some reason, Deerhunter really creeps me out). Out of all the main stage bands I saw, the Ponys seemed to experience the most sound difficulties, which was really annoying because it all but ruined a couple of their best songs. Despite the technical difficulties, they were still able to rip through some of my favorites from their 2007 album, Turn The Lights Out such as “Double Vision” and “Small Talk”.

Their lead guitarist was really fun to watch, as he played a big part in replicating the unique guitar textures from the album and was in full out shredding mode most of the set, while it seemed that the red-headed bass player held most of the other guys full attention. The band seemed a bit more static in movement than many of the other artists playing, letting the loud guitars and drowning vocals do most of the talking. Hopefully I can catch a full set of the band sometime.

MP3 Double Vision