We can get along!

In case you haven't noticed.

2006-11-11T23:53:00.000-05:00

We're on hiatus.

No more concerts this year, and lack of host is finally getting to me.

On the plus side, next year looks to be really good as well, with A TON of sophomore releases due, including Wolf Parade, Arcade fire and Bloc Party, a bunch of follow-ups (Emperor X, Modest Mouse, Final Fantasy).

Hopefully Chin Up Chin Up and Baby & Hide will play a couple all-ages shows...

We'll be back. I swear.

In the meantime, these names:

Matt & Kim
Jeremy Warmsley
Final Fantasy (new album "Heartland")
Continental Divide
Peter Bjorn & John
Magic Weapon
Arms
Dooey Decibel

(Also, I'm recording an album in my living room. More on that later.)

See you all later.

Belated reviews and whatnot pt. 1-- Wolf Parade/Holy Fuck/Frog Eyes

2006-08-14T00:02:00.000-04:00

Hey. It's been awhile. (Pause.)

The following is the write-up that was intended to be posted on the Wolf Parade forum, but we were not meant to be. Image hosting sites hate me and my cheap obsolete dial-up connection, and I'm tired and need to, you know, record a cover tomorrow, so this is how it forms. If you are from the Wolf Parade forum, hi. If your head is in any of my pictures, tell me.

A little under a week ago I attended my first concert at the hailed metro. The L was so very slow, (and apparently has been since it caught on fire), and so my bedraggled sister and I found the metro by its obscenely long line of indie kids spilling onto the sidewalk. We waited for a while, taking note of the various Wrigleyville cafes and such, and the very tasteful Metro sign.

FROG EYES
HOLY F K
WOLF PARADE

The unprepared will call line another good deal of time, but we secured Spencer-side fourth row spots. Basically the only ones standing, we watched everyone sit around and talk, play bejeweled on their cell phones (obviously the cheap cell phone game of choice), and try to amuse themselves. A group of two twentysomethings ahead of me started a spirited game of (crap, what is it called? you know, the game where you try to clap your hand off the other one's hand in unison but it basically fails in a couple seconds because your mind wanders because, dude, it's not really that interesting in the first place, but you start it again anyway. [?] What game is that? I call it Chinese water torture but that's not the proper name......)

Yes, I'm just ending that paragraph RIGHT HERE.

Anyway, in due time Frog Eyes came on. [dB reducing earplugs in] I had never seen them before (actually I had never seen ANY of the bands before) and they opened with a skewered version of "The Oscillator's Hum" that I didn't really like compared to the original. However, they followed that with a new song I had never heard before with Spencer arpeggiating the hell out of some chords and "Caravan Breakers" and each song seemed better than the last. Carey was really into the songs (both in movement and in spit, I was glad not to be in the front row), and while offputting during "The Oscillator's Hum", in the later songs it really worked and just FIT, and as a whole the show was really good. Carey was personable in between songs to boot. The bass player was awesome as well. And so was Melanie the drummer.

In a related note, Spencer now sings a little for FE, and the song with the "kiss you on the corner of the eye" song was my favorite of the set.

Next up was Holy Fuck, and though they took ten years to set up, the reason why was pretty clear. Holy Fuck are basically improvisational. With two massive board tables and keyboards and pedals and samplers and a film reader comboed with a drummer and bass player, they went wherever they felt in a hit or miss set that mainly hit. When they tried to play more dark, grungy material it didn't really fit the funjoy persona and tended to go nowhere. When, as on the last song, they messed with an almost videogamey melody, they could ride it out however they wanted, and it flowed and rocked. Bonus points for the inclusion of a melodica.

Lastly came Wolf Parade, who most people came to see (shame on you if you missed the openers as almost a quarter of the crowd did). Wolf Parade was awesome. They played EVERYTHING-- Sons and Daughters, I'll believe in anything, You are a runner to Fancy Claps, Disco Sheets, Modern World, It's A Curse, Shine a Light, and they even closed their regular set with This Heart's on Fire. It was awesome and to my relief the crowd was in to it in a good, honest-fan way, as opposed to the hipster-kid way I feared.

But I imagine people would like to hear about the new songs. I had noticed an acoustic guitar was next to Spencer's stuff and so knew that some new songs would be coming. Just as Spencer got the (sound) levels right, though, the bass player from Frog Eyes snuck onstage and threw some odd mirrored sunglasses on him. Spencer tried to start the song but realized he couldn't see at all. "I can't fucking play with these on," he admitted as he popped them on his keyboard.
Unfortunately for him, he didn't take them off fast enough.

Spencer Krug, rock star

The new songs were good but still in their infancy. I remember liking Dan's a little more than Spencer's, but we'll have to see.

Later, Dan was in between songs and took the time to humorously lament Dante's wind chimes. "He gets them coated so they don't break. There goes the gas money... Yeah, what do you have to say to that DeCaro?"

"There goes the gas money."

Spencer was as sharp as he was on the last set, and everyone else was great too. Dan and Hadji both had an awesome concert, seemingly working in unison.

They came back on after a fierce call for encore. Even Spencer felt it, replacing his usual "Thanks. You guys are great." to "Thanks. You guys are fucking awesome."

They closed their encore with an extended version of Dinner Bells that I had found not good on bootlegs but is simply transcendent live. The crowd danced it away.

To put it simply: I had a good, good time tonight.

SEMI-EXCLUSIVE: Swan Lake

2006-08-04T00:17:00.000-04:00

I despise YouSendIt. Oh well. Lyrics and song.

mp3: Swan Lake -- All Fires

You have a father;
There is another;
You have a sister—
There are no brothers.

You have good friends;
You have a lover;
When friendships end
You will still love her.

But this Teresa they love the best.

There was a flood;
A world of water;
The mason’s wife
Swam for her daughter

One thousand people
Did what they could;
They found a steeple
And tore up the wood.

Five hundred pieces means
Five hundred float;
One thousand people mean
Five hundred don’t.

And it’s Teresa that they love the best.

And I’ve said it before
And I’ll say it again;
All fires have to burn alive.
All fires have to burn alive.

From near his heart
He took a room
Where all fires have to burn alive to live.

From near his heart
He took a room
Where all fires have to burn alive to live.

So it’s Teresa that I love the best.

Beautiful.

Emperor X at the Elk Grove Village clocktower

2006-07-29T10:15:00.000-04:00

Thursday afternoon, I attended the strangest/most awkward/probably best concert of my life.

Backstory: I had innocently contacted Emperor X (who goes by Chad in the daytime) on whether his show at Subterranean was 21+ plus or all ages. He led me to his booking agent, who replied 21+. I thanked Chad for getting me there, and he replied by offering to play a show before the show. Through a series of emails, I ended up here:

about two minutes walking from the poliice station, ready for a concert.

They arrive and survey the crowd. That is to say me, my mom, and my sister. Chad hands me a notebook and tells me to pick the setlist, and they start.

Emperor X was, that day, Chad on acoustic guitar and singing, Joel on bass and keyboard, and someone whose name I never learned (Isaac? maybe?) drumming with an assortment of things, including Joel's shoe.

They also had a photographer whose name I also never learned.

They opened with Addison Aceh and just played well. Never mind the fact they were playing for a family in the middle of nowhere with around 90 degree temperatures they just seemed to enjoy themselves. There is little I could write to give the clearest of pictures to this concert, so on with the pretty colors:

YOU MAY NEED QUICKTIME

Setlist: (As picked by me)

Addison Aceh
Spieltier
Right to the Rails
Use Your Hands
Dirt Dealership; no video; this is I when I took pictures
Everyone in Jacksonville
Don't Gather 'Round the Dinnertable

Here.

We love women. We do.

2006-07-25T00:35:00.001-04:00

Hey! I shall be one of many guest bloggers participating at the Clever Titles Are So Last Summer portion of the charity Blogathon! [2006] The idea is that you stay up and post once every half hour for 24 hours. Needless to say, Bethanne from CTASLS is not in fact a drug addict, so she's called out for the help of guests, (at least 13 of them so far). If you have a blog, go contact her! 48 posts in 24 hours. It shall be fun and exciting, and I've already got two posts written in my head.

It will benefit the Global Fund for Women.

DONATE HERE! NOW!

No mp3s for you; I must sleep now.

The Eraser

2006-07-22T12:02:00.000-04:00

First things first-- The Eraser is a beautiful CD. The only color in the whole CD package, it is a vibrant purple skyline, actually also the artwork for the Harrowdown Hill single, and it is perfectly gorgeous.

Now to the music itself. It opens with "The Eraser", and the sheer brilliance of the song comes out by its first chorus. "Please excuse me I forgot to ask," he almost sneers over his C6 chord, "Are you only being nice because you want something?" Unfortunately, it follows with the much less catchy and meaningful "Analyse" which just basically has Thom following the piano with his vocals one beat later, which is a cool effect but not cool enough to warrant a full song. "The Clock" begins The Eraser's massive song improvement crescendo by starting off with some vaguely Arabic sound effects and vocals before we get to the redeeming part of the song-- the humming chorus. "Black Swan" is basically neo-funk, but it works as neo-funk IS enough to warrant a song. "Skip Divided" to me is where the album launches itself into greatness. Thom Yorke comes out with a curveball -- a humming line followed by a harmonic synth line followed by his super-low vocal line in which he sounds like a vampire in an awesome way, and it takes the song into an awesome direction. "Atoms for Peace" has a melody line that doesn't make any sense at all until the vocals come in, and then the song beautifys your head off, especially in comparison to the last track. "And it Rained All Night" perfectly represents The Eraser as it rides both the lowest bassline and highest vocal-- "I can see you; But I can never reach you..." Then comes "Harrowdown Hill" the guitar infused track that will be the single and uses all repeated lines for emphasis-- all repeated lines except this one -- "We think the same things at the same time- we just can't so anything about it." Then it closes with "Cymbal Rush", a solid end to an album.

The one gripe I can think of is that evil what if-- in this case, what if Thom put "The Eraser" last instead of first. Just a sequencing change, but I would elevate this review's hypothetical points way up. Still an extremely solid album. Even if XL sold out it put it on iTunes.

Don't turn away.

Tomorrow, tomorrow

2006-07-20T00:02:00.000-04:00

I'm gonna wake up early tomorrow and post. A lot. So far, I've an album review of The Eraser, random things I learned through my iPod shuffle, and maybe I can get my poet alter-ego to post.

Fun!

Also, in a related note, I set up a show. Myself. With help of a certain Chad Matheny. Come if you want. I'm gonna have some digital camera footage, quality unknown.

I believe that is all.

Anyone..?

2006-07-15T14:34:00.000-04:00

Emperor X (who I've posted about WAY too much already) is playing a 21+ show at Subterraenean (which I can't attend) and when I emailed him about it, he offered up a crazy idea:

That means you're in high school and might have a few friends that are into music. Would you guys be into us stopping by, before our show, and playing for you at your house or in a parking lot or something somewhere? We don't need any electricity, we can play all acoustic versions if need be. If you think that soudnds fun and you think you can get a few people out, I'd be happy to drop in and play an all-ages pre-show show just for y'all! Let me know if you want that to happen and it will be done, sir. :)

So, anyone in the Chicago area wants to go to this? If so leave a comment along with how many people you can bring. If you can't, tell your friends to leave a comment. If I get around ten, I can make this happen.

This is why we do it

2006-07-13T00:08:00.000-04:00

Today I got an email from a guy. He had tracked me down all the way from a positive Grizzly Bear review I wrote five months ago to a blog post where he deduced my address. We had a amusing conversation on whether we knew each other or not. I severely doubt we do, but it was good to talk to another guy from my spot in the 'burbs who is articulate and bored.

It's random things like this that make me love the internet.

Other things:

If you haven't yet, take the time to glance over the blogs in the link list. They're good.

Emperor X-- Addison Aceh

And hey! Its my birthday tomorrow!

Andrew Bird-- The Happy Birthday Song (live @ Doug Fir lounge)

High speed (flac) Low speed (mp3)

Baby&Hide-- Sigh (Epistemological Naturalism Mix)

The other semi-love song written in the view of a 12-year old

2006-07-10T16:34:00.000-04:00

Everyone by now knows (or should know) the song "I'll Believe in Anything" by Wolf Parade. They said during one interview that it was written in the point of view of a twelve-year-old girl. This feels like maybe it was written by a twelve-year-old boy. The lyrics talk about a deadbeat father, underachieving brother and fantastical love story.

Perhaps more importantly, it has the same build-up in a completely different format.

Emperor X-- Addison Aceh

EDIT: the link was dead so I'll come back with another tomorrow.

Holy god.

2006-07-08T00:51:00.000-04:00

Album art of the year:

Go and get all hi-res on a brother.

Halfway point-- I bow to the pressures of the mainstream, but I do it with style.

2006-07-07T13:50:00.000-04:00

For lieu of an opening, this is the year 2006. Albums were released this year. Here are my favorites.

1.) Sunset Rubdown-- Shut Up I Am Dreaming.

Brilliant stuff from Spencer Krug again. This man is a machine. Nevermind the fact that "Stadiums and Shrines II" is probably my song of the year, the flow and power of this music is amazing, the lyrics are top notch, and there are numerous un-pretentious guitar solos. What more is there?

2.) Final Fantasy-- He Poos Clouds

Owen Pallett takes a break from being the awesomist violinist ever to write a D & D concept album. Another Canadian with a brilliant song opener to a powerhouse album.

4.) Destroyer-- Destroyer's Rubies

Say what you want, but this man can WRITE lyrics. He has a great backing band for once. He has a drinking game. Another Canadian with a brilliant song opener to a powerhouse album. (Sense a theme here?)

3.) Baby & Hide-- Normal People

I'm not sure this was released in 2006, but it was recorded in late late '05 so it's good enough to count. Jeremy Keller brings a keyboard and a ton of melody and produces something oddly unique in his own lo-fi way. Everything synth-pop should be. Oh, and IT'S FREE. YOU HAVE NO EXCUSES.

5.) Thom Yorke-- The Eraser

My halfway point is the thirteenth. This is out on the eleventh. Little needs to be said about this very good not-solo album.

Admittedly this isn't very impressive, but I'm waiting for the second half.

On the Horizon: (in partial order)

Chad VanGaalen-- Skelliconnection
Chin Up Chin Up-- This Harness Can't Ride Anything
Sufjan Stevens-- The Avalanche
Grizzly Bear-- Yellow House

There were more but I can't remember them. If you have any, comment!

nothing.

2006-07-06T16:49:00.000-04:00

lets try not to ramble;
or even talk.
it's not a good party,
or a bad drink,
or a [adjective] anything.

some moments are lifeshaking because nothing happens and it shouldn't.

life is evident in listening,
in watching,
in just being
nothing.

this song is the most beautiful nothing i've ever heard.

Baby & Hide-- In Sails

Get Baby & Hide

Baby & Hide, Alex Lukashevsky, and Final Fantasy @ Lakeshore Theater

2006-07-02T17:15:00.000-04:00

I’m still recovering from last night. Recovering in a good way. The Lakeshore Theater, a smallish venue not often used for concerts had its top absolutely blown off with a three-pronged sublime concert. I had never heard either of the openers before, and they were both outstanding in their own way.
I arrived at the venue early and the Theater people just let me in. I scouted out my third row center seats (same seats as last week’s Rogue Wave / Chin Up Chin Up concert) and checked my camera for fatigue and whatnot.
Around thirty minutes before Baby & Hide were scheduled to come on. The couple two rows ahead of me began to worry a little.
“Wouldn’t it be horrible if they [Baby & Hide] came on and there were, like, four people?” they wondered aloud.
Soon, though, the theater began to fill. And it was time for Baby & Hide to come on.
I had no idea what to expect. A thirtysomething man came on and began to check the sound levels of the Korg in front of him. That guy was joined by an electric guitarist and a drummer who sat down at his two-drum-and-one-cymbal set. They proceeded to play a dynamic set.
Playing mainly songs that rely on keyboard build-ups and breakdowns, Baby &amp; Hide handled all of them well; the frontman played his part well, using his simple lyrics to play off the soundscapes, the guitarist played more like a bassist and kept things together, and the drummer mirrored the energy perfectly with excellent parts. You can't fault them for this, but my least favorite thing about the set was the sound balance-- the keyboards were too loud and the guitar and vocals were too soft.
They still could be awesome in studio-- I bought a CD (homemade and all) and haven't listened to it yet. (Get it for free here.)
Next to the party was Alex Lukashevsky. He started off awkwardly with a meandering acoustic guitar piece about music, but then slowly and surely gained our support with his wit and earnesty. He then brought down the house with an almost childish song about getting a girlfriend.

I'm gonna get me a girlfriend whatever the cost;
I'm gonna get me a girlfriend whatever the cost;
I'm gonna keep a girlfriend, even if an alcoholic,
or a genius, like Jackson Pollack;
I'm gonna get me a girlfriend whatever the cost.

Awesome stuff. (Note: he has an album out, called Connexions. Buy it here.)
Here is Alex in action:

Next came the act I was there for: Owen Pallett (a.k.a. Final Fantasy).

He popped onstage wearing a plaid collared shirt and jeans. After messing with sound levels for a bit, he addressed the crowd. "Welcome to the Final Fantasy rock and roll show... I'm Final."
Using an array of loop pedals and violin techniques, he built up his songs one by one. He had a couple of screw-ups though: Hey Dad had to be stopped completely when his echo pedal freaked out and he gave a funeral sort of second verse after declaring "Chicago doesn't deserve this song!" in sarcasm. I have it on digital camera video. This Lamb Sells Condos had to be stopped as well when he misplayed the opening to the piano melody and parlayed it into an improvised classical piece. "I forgot where I was going," Owen said.
He then revealed how he and Alex were going to celebrate Canada Day-- by picking apart each other's faults.

Anyway, the setlist:

That's When the Audience Died
This Lamb Sells Condos
Hey Dad pt. 1 (Owen's echoer goes haywire and he gives up halfway through)
Hey Dad pt. 2 (psychadelic chamber version;)
The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead
Many Lives for 49 MP
The Hands (Joan of Arc cover)
This is the Dream of Win and Regine
Song Song Song
Please Please Please
Better Than Worse (80+ MB)

Encore:
Fantasy (Mariah Carey cover)

Note: On the Better than Worse video, Owen is explaining what happened to him in Indiana: While shooting off fireworks, he burned his thumb (the video starts with him saying 'to a crisp'). He then advertises the CDs for sale and talks about being cut from Alex's CD. It's pretty funny. I apologize for the mass distortion 3/4 into BtW, it is a camera but still is a good video.

Pictures:That's Owen.

That's Owen with his bow in his collar.

The Final Fantasy experience.

I close with a story indicative of the night: After the show, I was in the hall waiting to buy He Poos Clouds. It is 12 dollars and I give Alex a twenty. Owen asks if I have any singles (they are running out of change) I only have one but Owen sells it to me anyway. I ask if Owen could sign it. "Do you have a pen?" he asks and I say yes and go to the side to open the CD and give him the Sharpie I brought in case he didn't have anything. It still has the top sticker that is impossible to get off. Owen just pops the CD case over the top (breaking it in the process) and I hand him the pen. "Hold my beer," he tells me and as he signs realizes the age of who he just gave his beer to. Alex and the drummer from Baby & Hide notice too.

Owen: Look at him. He's got a future. That's probably the first time he's ever held a beer.

B&H drummer: Yeah, That kid is cool. (I had just complimented him on the homemade CDs to which he replied, "That's how we roll.")

Owen (to Alex): We should take a picture and send it to his mother.

I give him the beer, he gives me the CD and I walk out smiling.

Awesome.

Looking into the past...

2006-06-30T11:13:00.000-04:00

Many of you know (or should know) of Owen Pallett, a.k.a. Final Fantasy. I'm going to be seeing him VERY soon (and will report back here) at the Lakeshore Theater and am using this blog to my own advantage. Owen, at the age of 13, scored four tunes for a videogame, Traffic Department 2192. I haven't listened to them yet and I need to direct link them to download. Here.

All MIDIs:

Menu

Vulture

Intro 2

Death

haikus are so formidable

2006-06-29T14:51:00.000-04:00

I wrote happiness
on a napkin; now it is
dancing with blue flames.

Frog Eyes -- Russian Berries But You're Quiet Tonight

Buy Frog Eyes

revolutionary

2006-06-28T13:44:00.000-04:00

something odd happened today.
we were in the factory per usual,
working with the robots,
and one of them twitched,
convulsed, spasmed once.

neither of us had done anything to cause it.

feigning calmness, i called the supervisor.
"it moved without us," i told him.
within minutes chaos had arrived.
low class high education people sprinted,
getting out as fast as they could.
"they're independent now. we're going to die!"
they all shouted with different voices, different terms, and different homelands
but in the same language of panic.

the supervisor came down to our floor,
wielding a shotgun and two bombs,
prepared to sacrifice himself.
he pointed his gun at the robot and paused,
ready to fire, ready to end.
he burst out laughing.

"it's smiling," he said.

M83 -- 0078h

Buy M83

Teams are awesome!

2006-06-27T14:26:00.000-04:00

The fact that there are three posts in as many months here tells me that perhaps I could use some help. Thus we are going in a (new?) direction. We shall be joined by enigmatic poet/musician/whatever dude Guadalcanal (NOT to be confused with 80's band Guadalcanal Diary).

Basically he posts give or take every day with one song and a poem to describe. Awesome, no? I will be the lists/reviews man, and will proudly report on (at least) the Pitchfork Music Festival day two, Final Fantasy @ the Lakeshore theater AND Wolf Parade @ Metro day one.

P.S.
(If anyone knows how to do anything with templates and header images, please help me.)

Chin Up Chin Up

2006-05-06T14:14:00.000-04:00

Alright. Chin Up Chin Up is a band from here in Chicago. I found them when inadvertently clicking on a mp3 link for them instead of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. I am not disappointed. They make music that manages to be urban Illinois while retaining some prairie guitar. It sounds as if you looking at a painting or a sculpture (or something impressive of that sort) and suddenly a car whizzes by on the street. (That is a really shoddy description.)

The guitars are pretty dang impressive and the tunes are catchy. What more is there to say?

CUCU are going to be in studio soon and I will get to see them live when they hit the Pitchfork Music Festival in July. Much fun all around.

MP3-- We Should Never Have Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers
(Direct; opt-click or right-click ---> Save As)

MP3-- Virginia Don't Drown
(Direct; opt-click or right-click ---> Save As)

You can buy them in iTunes or from their label, Flameshovel

New Banner!

2006-05-05T11:06:00.000-04:00

New Banner!

Hello all.

2006-04-30T11:16:00.000-04:00

This is We Can Get Along, a new mp3 blog. That said, this is just a shell of what this site shall be. I'll be experimenting with various webhosters and such.

Anyway, the title of this blog is after an Owen Pallett (final fantasy) song. Here you go:

MP3-- This is the Dream of Win and Regine
(sendspace file; follow link)

Also, for kicks,

MP3-- This is the Dream of Emma and Cam
(sendspace file; follow link)

Welcome all.