Top 25 Songs of the First Half of 2005: #5-1
We've reached the end... let's all let out one big "Huzzah!" in excitement.
5. Sufjan Stevens "Come On! Feel the Illinoise! (Part I: The World's Columbian Exposition/Part II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me in a Dream)" from Illinois (Asthmatic Kitty)
I feel a little weird about putting this so high with so little time to fall in love with it. But right now this heart is swelled up so much I had to go with the shotgun wedding. The most brilliant song on his most brilliant album to date, "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!" is everything Sufjan Stevens was born to do. De Niro was born to act. Kobayashi was born to eat hot dogs. Masta Ace was born to roll. Sufjan was born to make this song. The Guaraldi-esque piano intro of Part I leads us into a world of wonder featuring a chorus marvelling at the World's Columbian Exposition ("Chicago, the new age, but what would Frank Lloyd Wright say?"). Sufjan's theatrics have never been so pronounced and appropriate. Part II swoops in like the dream Sufjan tells the story of. The parade of horns of Part I seamlessly glides into the sway of strings of Part II. The melody becomes more delicate and more tender. In the song, with the ghostly appearance of poet Carl Sandburg (what about Ryne Sandberg? now that's Chicago hero), the question of "Are you writing from the heart?" arises. Sufjan is vulnerable, as his 50 states project is insanely ambitious, it's almost as he's quesitoning his own validity. He only needs to open his ears to his own music to know that he is headed in the right direction.
4. The Fiery Furnaces "Here Comes the Summer" from EP (Rough Trade)
The name of the game tonight is validation. Or perhaps justification. It's really not fair to put a B-side of 2004 on the list but sometimes you find a loophole and consarnit, you use that damn loophole. The real injustice is that I can't put the surrounding songs alongside it. "Here Comes the Summer" comes smack dab in the middle of a medley of sorts, opening the super sibling duo's EP. While "Single Again" is a menacing murder song and "Evergreen" is a laid back countryside road trip tune, "Here Comes the Summer" is decidedly light and even, a well groomed pop tune with a dancy beat. We find the Furnaces at their most accessible and sedately happy, which isn't exactly their calling card, seeing that their albums are as about even-keel as an ADD kids marching band lead by Tyler Durden. It doesn't suit them perfectly, but it works. The Friedbergers just work. If you didn't know I believed that by now, you just don't know me. Or more probable, you haven't been reading this weblog.
3. LCD Soundsystem "Disco Infiltrator" from LCD Soundsystem (DFA)
I don't dance. Well, I don't dance much. And I don't like techno music. Not much. That being said, I love James Murphy. The man is something to strive to be like. Shlubby, unshaven, slightly overweight, the man just knows how to make engaging dance music. "Disco Infiltrator" is a Murphy recipe worth copying: buzzy computer bass, thumping drums, an electro hook that sounds like it was beamed in from a Star Trek control console or a sound effect from a futuristic pod transportation device, and of course, Murphy's freak nasty verses and soulfully falsetto-ed choruses. But the secret to making it special is Murphy's attention to percussion. With his liberal peppering of cowbell over the track, it's amazing that Murphy is not wearing gold diapers. The hipster critics love "Losing My Edge" and the sorority girls love "Daft Punk is Playing at My House" but I... I love "Disco Infiltrator". It's pure heaven for people who want nothing more than "to dance their face off" (as renowned Danceologist Dr. Helen S. Wills would professionally describe). Not me, though. Some other dudes I know.
2. The Hold Steady "Cattle and the Creeping Things" from Seperation Sunday (Frenchkiss)
When I first heard Seperation Sunday, I thought it was fairly mediocre, save for "Cattle and the Creeping Things" which I thought was marginally more interesting than the rest of the self-described "bar rock" they churn out. But when I finally was able to swallow the album as a whole, "Cattle and the Creeping Things" still stood out, no longer as a great Hold Steady song but just a damn great song. Craig Finn's yell has always been rough but it's never been this curt and biting. His slam poetry is more body slam poetry, and the guitar line is sharp and dissonant, chopping away like an ax. While relying less on classic rock riffs and more on a visceral punk rock buzzsawing, the rhythmic tune of the song has assembly line workmanship but allows for some perks of harmoniously complimentary horns and an assortment of chilling keys. With all this friction and kenetic energy building into a rock and roll fireball, Finn cultivates gripping, gritty, marvelously descriptive almost-beat storytelling that follows the punk rock ethos of his subjects (who stand as the concept for Seperation Sunday), and of the dark, panic-inducing sound they've embraced on this track.
1. Architecture in Helsinki "Do the Whirlwind" from In Case We Die (Bar None)
Here you go. These are the instruments used on this song: Korg Mono/Poly, Yamaha TX812, Farfisa Matador Organ, Wurlitzer Electric Organ, Solina String Ensemble, Roland T-808, Yamaha Toy Piano, Steel Drums, Melodica, Vibra-Grand Vibraphone, Tuba, Marimba, Flute, Bass Recorder, Clarinet, Electric Guitar, Nylon String Guitar, 12 String Acoustic Guitar, Steel String Acoustic Guitar, Cello, Viola, Violin, Bassoon, Theremin, Musical Saw, Double Bass, Kontakt Sampler, Harmonica, Syn Tom and Hand and Power Tools.
That's this song. While most people try making tough things look effortless, Melbourne's Architecture in Helsinki has gone through a whole lot of trouble to make a song seemingly simple. And they succeed. "Do the Whirlwind" is blissful and precious, gentle and playful, and so darn danceable. It's like an immaculate dessert, simply put "fucking delicious", but a product of hardwork, skill and the right ingredients. The rest of In Case We Die is an exercise of excess: ambitious, complicated, schizophrenically put together and utterly brilliant. But "Do the Whirlwind" is like reaching nirvana or having tantric sex (neither of which I have the slightest idea feels like), being in this state of other-worldly inspiration. Or more simply put, being "in the zone". The Aussies can try their best to make a mess of things, toss in two dozen instruments, haphazard rhythms (even a purposeful "skip" in Cameron Bird's 2nd verse), but just can't do wrong. Not only can they not stop "Do the Whirlwind" from existing in pop transcendence with their foofaraw, it seems their frenetic style is the only way they know how to achieve this state .
One more time: Huzzah!
5. Sufjan Stevens "Come On! Feel the Illinoise! (Part I: The World's Columbian Exposition/Part II: Carl Sandburg Visits Me in a Dream)" from Illinois (Asthmatic Kitty)I feel a little weird about putting this so high with so little time to fall in love with it. But right now this heart is swelled up so much I had to go with the shotgun wedding. The most brilliant song on his most brilliant album to date, "Come On! Feel the Illinoise!" is everything Sufjan Stevens was born to do. De Niro was born to act. Kobayashi was born to eat hot dogs. Masta Ace was born to roll. Sufjan was born to make this song. The Guaraldi-esque piano intro of Part I leads us into a world of wonder featuring a chorus marvelling at the World's Columbian Exposition ("Chicago, the new age, but what would Frank Lloyd Wright say?"). Sufjan's theatrics have never been so pronounced and appropriate. Part II swoops in like the dream Sufjan tells the story of. The parade of horns of Part I seamlessly glides into the sway of strings of Part II. The melody becomes more delicate and more tender. In the song, with the ghostly appearance of poet Carl Sandburg (what about Ryne Sandberg? now that's Chicago hero), the question of "Are you writing from the heart?" arises. Sufjan is vulnerable, as his 50 states project is insanely ambitious, it's almost as he's quesitoning his own validity. He only needs to open his ears to his own music to know that he is headed in the right direction.
4. The Fiery Furnaces "Here Comes the Summer" from EP (Rough Trade)The name of the game tonight is validation. Or perhaps justification. It's really not fair to put a B-side of 2004 on the list but sometimes you find a loophole and consarnit, you use that damn loophole. The real injustice is that I can't put the surrounding songs alongside it. "Here Comes the Summer" comes smack dab in the middle of a medley of sorts, opening the super sibling duo's EP. While "Single Again" is a menacing murder song and "Evergreen" is a laid back countryside road trip tune, "Here Comes the Summer" is decidedly light and even, a well groomed pop tune with a dancy beat. We find the Furnaces at their most accessible and sedately happy, which isn't exactly their calling card, seeing that their albums are as about even-keel as an ADD kids marching band lead by Tyler Durden. It doesn't suit them perfectly, but it works. The Friedbergers just work. If you didn't know I believed that by now, you just don't know me. Or more probable, you haven't been reading this weblog.
3. LCD Soundsystem "Disco Infiltrator" from LCD Soundsystem (DFA)I don't dance. Well, I don't dance much. And I don't like techno music. Not much. That being said, I love James Murphy. The man is something to strive to be like. Shlubby, unshaven, slightly overweight, the man just knows how to make engaging dance music. "Disco Infiltrator" is a Murphy recipe worth copying: buzzy computer bass, thumping drums, an electro hook that sounds like it was beamed in from a Star Trek control console or a sound effect from a futuristic pod transportation device, and of course, Murphy's freak nasty verses and soulfully falsetto-ed choruses. But the secret to making it special is Murphy's attention to percussion. With his liberal peppering of cowbell over the track, it's amazing that Murphy is not wearing gold diapers. The hipster critics love "Losing My Edge" and the sorority girls love "Daft Punk is Playing at My House" but I... I love "Disco Infiltrator". It's pure heaven for people who want nothing more than "to dance their face off" (as renowned Danceologist Dr. Helen S. Wills would professionally describe). Not me, though. Some other dudes I know.
2. The Hold Steady "Cattle and the Creeping Things" from Seperation Sunday (Frenchkiss)When I first heard Seperation Sunday, I thought it was fairly mediocre, save for "Cattle and the Creeping Things" which I thought was marginally more interesting than the rest of the self-described "bar rock" they churn out. But when I finally was able to swallow the album as a whole, "Cattle and the Creeping Things" still stood out, no longer as a great Hold Steady song but just a damn great song. Craig Finn's yell has always been rough but it's never been this curt and biting. His slam poetry is more body slam poetry, and the guitar line is sharp and dissonant, chopping away like an ax. While relying less on classic rock riffs and more on a visceral punk rock buzzsawing, the rhythmic tune of the song has assembly line workmanship but allows for some perks of harmoniously complimentary horns and an assortment of chilling keys. With all this friction and kenetic energy building into a rock and roll fireball, Finn cultivates gripping, gritty, marvelously descriptive almost-beat storytelling that follows the punk rock ethos of his subjects (who stand as the concept for Seperation Sunday), and of the dark, panic-inducing sound they've embraced on this track.
1. Architecture in Helsinki "Do the Whirlwind" from In Case We Die (Bar None)Here you go. These are the instruments used on this song: Korg Mono/Poly, Yamaha TX812, Farfisa Matador Organ, Wurlitzer Electric Organ, Solina String Ensemble, Roland T-808, Yamaha Toy Piano, Steel Drums, Melodica, Vibra-Grand Vibraphone, Tuba, Marimba, Flute, Bass Recorder, Clarinet, Electric Guitar, Nylon String Guitar, 12 String Acoustic Guitar, Steel String Acoustic Guitar, Cello, Viola, Violin, Bassoon, Theremin, Musical Saw, Double Bass, Kontakt Sampler, Harmonica, Syn Tom and Hand and Power Tools.
That's this song. While most people try making tough things look effortless, Melbourne's Architecture in Helsinki has gone through a whole lot of trouble to make a song seemingly simple. And they succeed. "Do the Whirlwind" is blissful and precious, gentle and playful, and so darn danceable. It's like an immaculate dessert, simply put "fucking delicious", but a product of hardwork, skill and the right ingredients. The rest of In Case We Die is an exercise of excess: ambitious, complicated, schizophrenically put together and utterly brilliant. But "Do the Whirlwind" is like reaching nirvana or having tantric sex (neither of which I have the slightest idea feels like), being in this state of other-worldly inspiration. Or more simply put, being "in the zone". The Aussies can try their best to make a mess of things, toss in two dozen instruments, haphazard rhythms (even a purposeful "skip" in Cameron Bird's 2nd verse), but just can't do wrong. Not only can they not stop "Do the Whirlwind" from existing in pop transcendence with their foofaraw, it seems their frenetic style is the only way they know how to achieve this state .
One more time: Huzzah!
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home