Junior Boys

As I suspected, the sound at the show last night turned out to be not quite as precise and bright as on the records. The last three songs were all killer, though. "Birthday" has a complex, dense rhythm, but it's pretty spare so they carried it off well. "FM" has many layers of sound but it's also very slow and not as focused on beats as most of their other tracks, so that also worked well. For an encore they chose "Under the Sun," which surprised me because it doesn't sound like much on record. One touch I've liked the last two times I've seen Junior Boys play, though, is Jeremy Greenspan's guitar, much more present live, and it really changes some songs, especially "Under the Sun" where he added startling sheets of guitar noise--an unexpected but delightful touch for the end of the set.

To start the set, Greenspan read derogatory and hilariously gay-themed comments from his laptop about "In the Morning," which apparently is the free single on iTunes this week. As expected the crowd found ate it up. A few choice quotes:

"The song seems to be similar in the rock/electric fusion of Queen's Radio-Ga-Ga."
"It sounded like a messed up Britney Spears song."
"I would give it a -1 rate if I could."
"I would rather listen to someone ripping apart live children."

Phone

After signing up for a Gizmo account a couple weeks ago, I finally got myself a headset and made a few test calls--everything seems to be working. We'd used Skype at work a little bit, but Gizmo is open-source and less likely to jack up their prices come 2007. It should be about five to six dollars a month.

I also got a 50-pack of DVD-R's yesterday in anticipation of my burner which should be getting here by early next week. Roughly 18 GB of storage per dollar. The mind boggles.

2006: Guessing

The Black Angels Passover [Light in the Attic]
The Black Keys Magic Potion [Nonesuch]
Burial Burial [Hyperdub]
Junior Boys So This Is Goodbye [Domino]
Matmos The Rose Has Teeth in the Mouth of a Beast [Matador]
Six Organs of Admittance The Sun Awakens [Drag City]
Thom Yorke The Eraser [XL]
Trentemoller The Last Resort [Poker Flat]
VA Superloooongevity [Perlon]
VA Total 7 [Kompakt]

Booka Shade "In White Rooms (Elektrochemie Remix)" [Get Physical]
Delia & Gavin "Relevee (Carl Craig Remix)" [DFA]
DJ Copy "Emotions" [CD-R]
Justice "Waters of Nazareth (Erol Alkan Remix)" [Vice]
Justin Timberlake "My Love" [Jive]
Martin Landsky "1000 Miles" [Poker Flat]
Shit Robot "Triumph" [DFA]
Simian Mobile Disco "Hustler" [Kitsune]
Skatebård "Data Italia" [Digitalo]
Swayzak "Mike Up Your Mind" [!K7]

Farben

So, last night I went to Neumo's to hear Jan Jelinek (aka Farben, Gramm, etc.), a post-Decibel event. It was sort of minimal techno played under/behind some overpowering drones--for example, one sounded kind of like I was standing by mellifluous but large and full-powered foghorn. Then he came back for an encore, doing more of the same, except I guess even better. I can only describe it as perhaps the most beautiful piece of music I've ever heard in my life. The problem is, with no choruses or hooks and very laid-back loops, I can't even actually recall the specific sound very well. Luckily I've got Soulseek up and running, so I'm going to start with Farben's Textstar, since one of the Decibel-list emails stated that it was a Farben performance, and work my way through his other full-lengths under other names, then the various singles.

Dance Music, etc.

Reading The Stranger on my busride home from the library today, I noted an interesting comment by James Murphy in an interview to hype his DJ night at Chop Suey.

Marcus Lambkin [Shit Robot] taught me how to DJ, and before that I just hated dance music.

A few weeks back I'd decided that the book Last Night a DJ Saved My Life was integral to my enjoyment of dance/electronic music, but hadn't considered the simple act of being a DJ. I've often remarked to people that even just radio DJing is fun because you get to listen to music in a different way by (hopefully) spending most of your time making connections between tracks and thereby creating a sequence of music that makes sense. It could be coincidence, but I started enjoying dance/electronic music at almost the exactly the same time I was figuring out how to put manipulate music for a desired cumulative effect, a function for which dance music is perfectly suited.

In a chronologically related but thematically unrelated note, during my time at the library I read Paul Schrader's "The Film Canon" from the most recent Film Comment Rather than just a list, though he includes his own at the end, it's more of an investigation into what a film canon should be or do, and how we can even begin to make objective judgements about particular films--artistically, aesthetically, etc. Utterly essential.

Ambient Showcase

Didn't really go for the music or the visuals during the first set. The "optical artist" chose to use a pixelated candle flame going in and out of focus for the entire time, which seemed to me way too bright and static. With a screen that large, the visuals really impose themselves on the space, and I felt like the candle was just burning into my retinas.

The second set featured a much better use of black and mesmerizing patterns. The third set was all done by The Dead Texan, sound and vision, and really came together nicely. Especially toward the end of that set I felt like I was in the middle of an intensely pleasant dream with the rest of the audience, much more so than I ever have watching a movie.

I was confused by Murcof's set. The visuals were banal and I didn't find a lot of surround-sound exploration interesting at all. Five minutes of thickly layered, overwhelming drone at the middle were a shock and a delight but otherwise I really wasn't that much into it. The sounds were too small, sparing, and unappealing, I think.

Ollie's Pasta

Click and drag on the image while it's playing.

Decibel

I spent about eight hours at two Decibel events yesterday. Thomas Fehlmann's dub set was similarly exciting as Deadbeat's a couple weeks ago at Bumbershoot. It sounded like he had enough ideas to play all night, and he seemed delighted to be sharing them with us. Although I did like the experience of listening while seated in the Broadway Performance Hall, especially during the second half of his set I think the audience would really have appreciated a dancefloor. I need to check out some of his records.

At Neumo's I enjoyed bits of Telefon Tel Aviv but they were a little too melody-oriented for me. I did enjoy the live remix of Ciara's "1, 2 Step". Not that she was there, but that they performed it on their equipment rather than playing a record they'd made.

Apparat was really in control and probably played a great set (I'd guess he's used to playing for much longer) but his sound was a little too aggressive for me. It was definitely interesting but the bass was too punishing and all in all his sound was harder than what I really enjoy. Alex Smoke remedied that, making use of softer and more pleasurable beats and synth tones. I wish he'd have played first, but as it was a full day of work (including rearranging our office) and six hours of music wore me out by 2am, so I left before it was over.

September Listening

I finally got fed up with Last.fm and reset my tracks. (Should take effect by Sunday afternoon.) Maybe if I plugged in my iPod every night it would more effective, but it just seems like a misrepresentation of my listening habits. Perhaps if they found a way to include multiple artist compilations and label or genre statistics I might feel like it did a better job of showing what I'm into.

I was also thinking today about Allmusic. They have a ton of interesting information in their database, but a terribly inflexible interface for users to interact with it. I have no idea why you can't generate a list of search results based on more than one criterion, but somehow they have not implemented that feature. I mean, how awesome would it be if I could search for "cathartic" "electronic pop" with at least four stars by artists from France, limiting results to only EPs or 12"s? Not that I would every day, but still, considering how much meta-information they have for each record, they could really benefit from more Web 2.0-type functionality.

Here's the list for the month:

• The Black Keys Magic Potion
• Junior Boys So This Is Goodbye (again)
• Justin Timberlake "My Love"
• Skatebård "Data Italia"
• Thom Yorke The Eraser
• VA Total 7 (Kompakt)
• VA Superloooongevity (Perlon)

An Emotional Post

By request.

Last night when the Black Keys played "Grown So Ugly" it made me happy. Today when my computer was slow I was sad. When I found out there were donuts in the kitchen this morning at work, I was happy. When I went back later because I was hungry again in the afternoon and all the donuts were gone, I was sad.

Rest of the Month

So, I'm done at Grist about September 18. I still apparently have a chance to stay on in the MVS house, but I'm looking for someplace else. Hopefully I'll have a week or two off before I start a temp job, working long enough to keep myself afloat for the rest of 2006.

I haven't decided how many Almodovar movies I'll be seeing at the Harvard Exit. It'll be some whole number greater than or equal to one, probably less than four. Half Nelson opens here this weekend, so perhaps I'll make the Saturday matinee.

Decibel gets started next Thursday. I'll certainly be at the Headfuk Showcase and the Ambient Showcase. If I get into the Opening Gala, then I probably won't be at the Dirty Dancing Showcase. I was planning on the James Murphy vs. Juan Maclean DJ set at Chop Suey the week after, but if I wind up in New York next year, I'll be able to see either of them multiple times. Jan Jelinek will be making the trip from Berlin for a post-Decibel show at Neumo's that night.

Bumbershoot, Day 2

Much shorter line for Spoon than Blondie. Actually, it was more of a swiftly moving stream than a line, so I got into Memorial Stadium just a couple minutes after reaching the queueing area. I hadn't realized just quite how gigantic the mainstage was, but apparently Kanye claimed 23,000 for his show last night. Not quite that full for Spoon, but still an impressive crowd for an indie rock show.

They played everything I wanted to hear, but confirmed that for some reason I always enjoy the band at a slight remove. It could be because they rely on a more lean, spare sound and I tend to only truly adore rock bands with a full, enveloping sound. But there are enough exceptions to that rule for me to be dubious. Anyhow, I'm very happy I got to see Spoon, especially in such a grand setting.

After that I wandered around trying to avoid the crowds for a while. Eventually I found myself at the Northwest Court Lounge for Vashti Bunyan. This sucked, mostly because the performance was very quiet, almost at a whisper-like level, being played outdoors in an area full of activity. I attempted to focus my attention for about half an hour and wound up leaving to see the start of Synthclub.

The EMP Skychurch is simply stunning. I'd read the description (70 ft. ceilings, 48,000 watt soundsystem, etc.), but didn't quite grasp just how awesome the space is. The space is ovoid, spread wide and not very deep, which keeps everyone closer to the stage. They've got "clouds" at maybe 40 ft, off which the lights bounced impressively. There's also an absolutely gigantic videoscreen maybe 10-20 ft. behind the performers, which was used to especially good effect during Deadbeat's set. Even during Synthclub, when the space was fairly packed, it didn't feel cramped because attention was focused upward and not near crowd-level. Maybe it wouldn't feel as right for a rock show, but it's thrilling for electronic music.

Synthclub basically did a wide-ranging house set, with Reggie Watts on vocals, joined by three other local guys on various synths. I'd only previously seen Watts at the Capitol Hill Block Party, where he did some bizarre MCing, but here he was a great magnanimous presence who really seemed to unite the crowd. In fact, it would have been a great introductory sort of show for anybody who's put off by the lack of personality onstage at most house and techno shows.

Lusine was pretty good, though I took a break outside in the middle of his set, so I can't assess it as masterfully as the other two. The cool thing about this set was that I actually took in about 15 minutes of it from outside, since there was a big videoboard outside simulcasting a feed of the stage with speakers, and just enough bass was bleeding through to complete the experience. That meant I got to observe the carnival rides for a while, which was fun.

Deadbeat played a very wide-ranging dub set, with all kinds of techno beats, along with dancehall, reggae, and other things as well. He probably made the best use of the sound system, in the sense that I not only liked the music, but enjoyed the physical vibrations as well. The visuals were great and he kept things moving swiftly through the entire set, which was nice, though I imagine that might indulge a little bit more when playing on a night that doesn't end at 11. I may have enjoyed the Thermals a little more, but I'm definitely happiest that I saw this.

Bumbershoot, Day 1

The bus down filled up completely about a third of the way from the top of Capitol Hill to the Seattle Center. I'd planned to see Blondie, but I kept getting less interested as the line to get into Memorial Stadium got longer, so I went inside the Exhibition Hall for Erase Errata instead. They'd always sounded like a good idea to me, based on what I'd read. They didn't sound like quite such a good idea on stage, though they did claim sleep deprivation as they were playing at two in the afternoon after a night show in Portland. The Exhibition Hall is also cavernous, a big problem unless you're prepared to take into account the cathedral-like acoustics. Erase Errata's songs were mostly short and jagged, they didn't flow, and at one point the bass drum pedal broke, so there was a bit of an awkward interim which exposed the band's seeming lack of stage presence.

I caught a little bit of Blondie afterward as anything playing in the stadium is audible for miles around--I could hear it faintly from my house last night. Did you know that Debby Harry is in her sixties?

Jamie Lidell outside was a more enjoyable experience, although once again the equipment got in the way of performance. The sound was a lot better, the grass and sun a lot more fun than the dark, lifeless cave of the Exhibition Hall. His live act was every bit as interesting as expected, making use of a Moog, a laptop, and on-the-spot sampling. I found his experimentation a bit more interesting than the more straightforward songs, but it was really pleasant, except for the part near the end when some of his electronics died.

The crowd for the Thermals seemed to consist mostly of high school kids, which was only annoying while waiting in line, during which time they either kissed frequently and rapidly (just making out would actually have been less intrusive) or made loud and uninsightful comments on inane topics. This brought to mind the last time I saw the band, which was kind of an underwhelming experience. I was still worried after they launched into the first song with almost no guitar coming out of the speakers. It wouldn't have been the end of the world since their basslines are so vital, but I was definitely ready for disappointment. However, they fixed that glitch and wound up mostly turning the bad acoustics to their advantage, intentionally or not. For one, they sounded like they were playing in a stadium, which was kind of awesome, a nice effect combined with the elevated stage; at the Triple Rock you either look straight ahead or down at the band. Most importantly, though, the several second delay inherent in the acoustic space added a nice sort of drone or buzz in the background, not dissimilar to the lo-fi hum of their first record. My only complaint is that some of the vocal melodies were a little muddied, but basically this was a tremendous show. Their songs are, for the most part, as short or shorter than Erase Errata's, but because the melodies are all so sweet, they play so fast, and their roar of a sound is so full and unswervingly steady, it was more like a 55-minute joyride than a disconnected hodgepodge. Also the very recently added drummer looked like maybe playing this show was a much-longed-after birthday present or something, as he continually flashed delighted grins at the audience just in the middle of songs or whenever. I think I'm still excited about how unexpectedly this set was. Hopefully something today measures up.