What's this, another new feature? Yep. If you haven't guessed by now, we're starting to run a daily feature every weekday in addition to the random nonsense we'd post anyway, because as fun as reporting new singles and tours can be, nothing gets our collective motors going quite like making mixtapes, top 5's lists, and reminiscing about the days of yore, which is the whole purpose of this new column. Each week we'll take turns waxing about a concert we went to, an album we loved, a shirt we bought, a kiss shared over Sigur Ros, anything, so long as it was in the past. Wayback Whensday is also where you'll find our ongoing Don't Tell Anyone You Don't Own... column, which we'll do once each month.
For now, read on as I recall some of the highlights of my first Interpol concert, which occurred almost 5 years ago exactly.
I first heard about Interpol in the summer of 2002, thanks to a CMJ article that was actually written about the Strokes and the resurgence of intelligent (ahem...), yet simple rock music. For the life of me, I can't remember any other bands that wound up being compared to the Strokes in that article, though I'm certain I listened to all of them at some point in time. The only one that would eventually matter to me, however, was Interpol.
Not long after reading the article, I downloaded my first Interpol song, "Obstacle 1." I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I was nonplussed after my initial listen. I should note, however, that thanks to the CMJ article I had expected more of a Strokes-y sound instead of the jarring guitar interplay and the imagery of a person repeatedly stabbing their neck, slicing the jugular vein and dying a horrible, bloody death. Throw in the fact that Paul Banks sounds perfectly cool, and not "hip" cool, but calm, collected, about the whole thing, and you can probably understand why it took some time before I was finally able to "get" it. In the meantime, I stuck with old favorites like Coldplay, Queens of the Stone Age, and Zwan, all bands that represented a certain era of my life, the end of my teens to be exact, and satisfied me perfectly up until that point, but bands that I no longer listen to. Honestly, I think Interpol is the reason why. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Coldplay or QOTSA (Zwan might be a different story), but the introduction of Interpol in my life, and especially that first concert, was simultaneously a giant period, a turning of the page, and the first sentence of the new chapter in my life. It probably sounds dramatic, over exaggerated, but I swear it's true.
I officially became the proud owner of Turn on the Bright Lights on New Year's Eve in 2002. A friend of mine took me CD shopping as a late Christmas present, and because I had heard Interpol were coming to Kansas City, I decided to pick up the album and give the whole thing a listen. As the next couple of weeks passed, I listened to the album a few times, and while the catchier numbers finally started to sink in with me, I was still having a hard time absorbing the whole thing. But if I was starting to come around, my girlfriend at the time was another story. She thought it was boring, and when I offered to buy her a ticket to the show, she thought I was crazy to even suggest the idea (I should not that a month or so later, she finally saw the light too - I guess this album's a grower also?) Desperate for some company at the show, I called my best friend Adam, who is more into punk rock than arty New York post-post-punk, and pleaded my case to him that he should go. Thankfully, Adam likes live music more than life itself, and he accepted my offer. The day before the show I was also able to recruit a co-worker named Jason, who was the only morning employee at Panera Bread that I could talk music with. On a cold, January night, the three of us hit the icy roads to Kansas City.
We arrived at the Madrid Theater extremely early, which meant we had to sit through a couple of openers. On the plus side, however, we were able to score an excellent spot very close to the stage and with a nice view. The first band was a local one called the People. This band would later become the Golden Republic, one of Kansas City's flagship bands until they broke up last year. After the People was Calla, who I thoroughly enjoyed at the time, even going as far as to buy their CD at the show, along with an Interpol shirt that I would lose 20 minutes later in the Madrid Theater bathroom (Femme Fatale, the wonderful friend that she is, replaced the shirt several years later for my birthday).
Next up was Interpol, who took the stage to some polite fanfare and quickly started into "Untitled." It was clear from the start this was a band that wasn't going to wow you with any fancy tricks, and instead let the performance speak for itself. This can backfire if you have an off night, but lucky for us the band sounded great. After "Untitled" settled down, I was expecting "Obstacle 1" to start as it does on the album, instead the band opted for "Roland," a solid choice if you ask me because it maintained the momentum that the fans were surely expecting and saved a great song like "Obstacle 1" for later (just before the encore, in fact, which was the perfect place for it).
After "Roland," I remember someone from the balcony yelling "Stellllllaaaaa!" I have since grown accustomed to hearing this, it seems to be a favorite among the contingent of Kansas City Interpol fans, but I'll admit it struck me as odd back then. I mean, of course they were going to play "Stella," they were going to play all of Bright Lights. It was the only album they had! Two songs later, as they started to play "Stella," I chuckled, and wondered what the guy would request next. Then the song got rolling, and I could see why that man was so keen on hearing the song. That's when it hit me, I still hadn't digested all of Bright Lights yet, and here I was at their concert, and there they were playing one of their best songs, and I was fairly oblivious as to what was transpiring. I focused in on the song, the band shifted gears and chords, "She broke away / broke away" sang Paul Banks. She may have broken away, I thought, but they're pulling me back in. As the song drifted on, with Paul Banks muttering "she was my catatonic sex toy / love joy diver," repeating "right on" and "oh yeah," it started to sink in. Finally, I was "getting" this band.
With my brain finally willing to accept these songs, and because the songs were much louder in concert, I was able to dissect some of the nuances to Interpol's sound. What hit me almost immediately at this point was the tight rhythm section, especially Carlos D, who is practically a symphony all to himself on the bass. Hearing him and Sam Fogarino play on "Hands Away," a song I had never paid full attention to until that night, was stunning and fascinating, as it was like watching the curtain slowly pull open, revealing the men behind Interpol's rich sound.
I also took notice to how most of the songs end somewhere completely different from where they start, a trick that Interpol has pretty much abandoned with each passing album. This was especially evident in during the night's encore, where they played "The New," which also happens to be my candidate for Interpol's best song. Just thinking of the chiming guitars that began the segue from the song's first half to the next, then Paul's waling on his Rickenbacker's B-string, detuning it down and back up again, I get chills all over again.
The night ended with an inspired rendition of "Obstacle 2;" Paul's soaring voice still echoing in my head. As the house lights came up, I exhaled for what felt like the first time in an hour. I was exasperated, and completely surprised by just how much the show had affected me in such a short amount of time. I should be fair, though, Paul Banks warned me way back at the start of the show that a "Surprise sometimes / will come around." He wasn't even fucking kidding.
[mp3]Interpol - "Obstacle 1"
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Wayback Whensday!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Best Songs From Bad (or Mediocre) Albums - 2007 Edition
For every great album this year has seen there have been even more albums that are mediocre, or just downright terrible. However, a surprising amount of those mediocre or awful releases came equipped with at least one pretty nice track. Because I don't want to tip my/our hats too early and, in a roundabout way, reveal too much about our upcoming Best Albums list, I'm only going to post a few of these "strongest links", and ask that you fill in the rest in the comments section.
Modest Mouse - "Spitting Venom"
(From the We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank LP)
Modest Mouse really jumped the shark with their latest album. Don't get me wrong, I'm still a Modest Mouse supporter, even if I can't stand most of We Were Dead. The cautious optimistic in me remembers that their two previous albums were released on a major label too, and I like those albums just fine. And as I mentioned in my review for this album (one of my first reviews, go me!) there are a few redeeming tracks on here, and "Spitting Venom" is definitely the one that floats above the rest.
Even from the start, with the song's acoustic intro that sounds like "Rock Lobster" meets Angels of Light, you can tell its gonna be a good one. "We were spitting venom at most everyone we know", it begins, something I think all of us could imagine Issac Brock doing in real life. Let's face it, we're all Modest Mouse fans because Issac's the kind of pessimistic jerk we can all relate to, the Bukowski of (not so) Indie Rock. This is no sappy "We've got everything!" bullshit, it's all falling off here, and Issac's the captain trying to weather a storm with too heavy of a load. The song, fittingly enough, transforms itself to reflect the sentiment. The chiming guitars and lost at sea horns give this listener a sinking feeling, literally, and puts me eye to eye with the worms and weird fishes, maybe to swim safely to shore or die alone in the ocean. If the rest of We Were Dead were half as good as this song, it could have made our Top 20 easily.
Interpol - "The Lighthouse"
(From the Our Love to Admire LP)
To be honest, this is a song that I have trouble justifying. I just spent about 20 minutes writing reasons why it is that I like this song, and they were all crap. Pure crap. I was talking out of my ass because I honestly can't think of one single good reason to like this song. I just know that I do.
Devendra Banhart -
"Seahorse"
(From the Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon
LP)
Do you think Devendra likes the Doors much? Seriously, this song sounds like it could have been an outtake from L.A. Woman sessions, or maybe he's covering something from American Prayer. Whatever, the song is incredible, even if only while high.
Wilco - "Impossible Germany"
(From the Sky Blue Sky LP)
Like the latest Modest Mouse album, Sky Blue Sky has its share of good tracks. And like Devendra's "Seahorse", "Impossible Germany" has a major Classic Rock vibe going for it. But unlike Sky Blue Sky's weaker songs, it doesn't venture into boring, AOR territory, thanks in no small part Nels Cline's fancy guitar soloing. It's songs like these that make me yearn for another A Ghost is Born, an album that I enjoy immensely.
Like I said earlier, I could go on, but I won't. However, feel free to post any of your favorite songs from albums that you feel are somewhere in the bad/mediocre region in our comments section.
Monday, October 8, 2007
Area Concerts (October 8th)
Not very many new additions to the concert calendar, which is not unusual for this time of year. Who honestly wants to play Kansas City or Lawrence in December or January when its fucking cold and the potential for snow and ice is always there? As much as I hate the fact that the midwest is often overlooked, even I can understand not wanting to plan too many shows here in the winter. So, it looks like we're starting the home stretch of what has been a very good year for area shows.
Some heavy hitters come to KC this week. Interpol, who I admire for showing Kansas City some love each time they tour, return on Wednesday, as does Wilco, this time with Andrew Bird opening. Do I smell a potential upstage performance? Doubtful, considering the Wilco audiences I have been a part of have never been the most open minded, or sober, bunch of people to ever stand through an opening act. I guess what I'm trying to say is if Calexico couldn't wow them 4 years ago, Andrew Bird will probably fly right over their heads as well.
October
8 - Head of Femur @ Slowdown (Omaha, NE)
8 - USSA (featuring Duane Dennison of Jesus Lizard/Tomahawk and Paul Barker of Ministry) @ the Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
9 - Head of Femur @ Slowdown (Omaha, NE)
10 - Interpol w/ Liars @ Uptown Theater (Kansas City, MO)
11 - The Good Life w/Georgie James, Zookeeper @ Mojo's (Columbia, MO)
12 - The Broken West @ Mojo's (Columbia, MO)
13 - Wilco w/ Andrew Bird @ the Crossroads (Kansas City, MO)
15 - Adam Franklin (of Swerverdriver) @ the Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
16 - Black Rebel Motorcycle Club @ the Granada (Lawrence, KS)
17 - Scout Niblett, Monta @ the Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
17 - Shout Out Louds w/ Johnossi, Nico Vega @ the Jackpot (Lawrence, KS)
17 - Drive-By Truckers @ the Granada (Lawrence, KS)
19 - Captured by Robots @ the Brick (Kansas City, MO)
20 - Rogue Wave w/ Port O'Brien @ the Bottleneck (Lawrence, KS)
20 - Polyphonic Spree w/ Rooney, the Redwalls @ the Granada (Lawrence, KS)
21 - Henry Rollins @ Liberty Hall (Lawrence, KS)
22 - Caribou w/ Born Ruffians @ the Bottleneck (Lawrence, KS)
22 - 1990s w/ Love Like Fire, Brilliant Geographers (Kansas City, MO)
23 - Bright Eyes @ Lied Center (Lawrence, KS)
24 - Minus the Bear w/ Helio Sequence, Tiny Vipers @ the Granada (Lawrence, KS)
25 - Architecture in Helsinki w/ Glass Candy, Panther @ the Bottleneck (Lawrence, KS)
25 - Atmosphere w/ Grayskul, Mac Lethal, Lucki.I.Am @ the Granada (Lawrence, KS)
25 - Head of Femur @ The Bluebird (St. Louis, MO)
30 - Jesu w/ Torche, Fog @ the Bottleneck (Lawrence, KS)
30 - Anti MC w/ Busdriver, Daedelus @ the Gaslight Tavern (Lawrence, KS)
30 - SSION w/ DJ Iggy Baby @ the Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
31 - Gogol Bordello @ Liberty Hall (Lawrence, KS)
31 - Múm @ the Granada (Lawrence, KS)
November
2 - The Ponys w/ Chinup Chinup, Black Tie Dynasty @ the Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
4 - New Pornographers w/ Emma Pollock, Immaculate Machine @ Liberty Hall (Lawrence, KS)
5 - Tegan and Sara w/ Northern State @ the Granada (Lawrence, KS)
7 - The Thermals @ Mojo's (Columbia, MO)
8 - Girl Talk @ Mojo's (Columbia, MO)
8 - Richard Buckner w/ Dave Dondero @ The Picador (Iowa City, IA)
9 - The Mountain Goats @ the Jackpot (Lawrence, KS)
9 - The Thermals @ Sokol Underground (Omaha, NE)
9 - Black Dice @ the Pistol Social Club (Kansas City, MO)
9 - Tori Amos @ Lied Center (Lawrence, KS)
10 - Ghostface Killah, Brother Ali, Rakim, more @ the Beaumont Club (Kansas City, MO)
11 - Parts and Labor @ the Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
11 - Regina Spektor @ the Uptown Theater (Kansas City, MO)
12 - Sea Wolf @ The Gaslight Tavern (Lawrence, KS)
12 - Meat Puppets @ the Bottleneck (Lawrence, KS)
13 - The Hold Steady w/ Art Brut @ the Granada (Lawrence, KS)
13 - Old Time Relijun w/ Madhappy @ the Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
15 - Eric Bachman (Archers of Loaf) w/ In the Pines @ the Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
16 - Saturday Looks Good to Me w/ Ok Jones @ the Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
16 - Great Northern w/ Robbers on High Street @ the Jackpot (Lawrence, KS)
16 - Maritime @ the Replay Lounge (Lawrence, KS)
18 - Of Montreal w/ MGMT @ Liberty Hall (Lawrence, KS)
20 - Annuals w/ Manchester Orchestra @ the Bottleneck (Lawrence, KS)
25 - Peter Bjorn & John @ Cain's Ballroom (Tulsa, OK)
26 - Peter Bjorn & John @ Madrid Theater (Kansas City, MO)
26 - The Locust w/ Yip-Yip, Sleeping People, Beautiful Bodies @ the Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
27 - King Khan's BBQ Show w/ Bleeding Hands @ the Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
December
1 - Electric Six @ the Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
2 - Shonen Knife @ the Bottleneck
6 - VHS or Beta @ the Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
9 - The Lemonheads (!) @ the Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
13 - Paper Airplanes @ the Record Bar (Kansas City, MO)
Friday, August 31, 2007
Form & Content: Together At Last
Or Why the National is My New Interpol 
When I first started listening to music, I tended to look for something not to like. I don’t like the singer’s voice. I don’t like these dissonant guitars. I don’t like these lyrics. Now thankfully I look for something to like, since first impressions can be so unpredictable. (Oddly, often times the song I least like on an album initially will become my favorite. There’s something about being challenged, breaking down the pieces and making sense of them, that allows me to take such joy in the reconstructed picture.)
My criteria for acceptable music have changed over the years as surely as my grade school criteria for men: “Has to be Catholic, have good teeth, and like Mexican food.” (Several years later, I can attest that Mexican food, at least, still has a grip on me.) My early music checklist probably looked something like this: “Has to be weird but not too weird, has to have a pleasing aesthetic, has to have good lyrics.”
The latter of the three tended to be the deal breaker. This meant phenomenal bands like Sigur Rós took some time. After initially attempting to form words (English words, at that!) out of Jónsi Birgisson 's Hopelandic gibberish, I gave up. I had to redefine how I listened to music, how I appreciated music, and I haven’t been that same sorry girl since.
So yes – shock! – music most certainly is the essential component of music. Hold your snickering, please. I still argue that those lyricists who pen impeccable poetics will forever hold the biggest power over this listener. Hear me out.
I blame it all on the fact that I’m an English teacher. It’s that whole bit about form and content working together to create an overall tone/theme. A classic example: In the song “Let Down,” as the form of the song (how it’s conveyed – aka the music) spirals into madness and despair, the content (what the song’s about) mirrors that impending madness as Thom Yorke repeats the nonsensical phrase, “You know where you are with.” Thom’s losing it so much he’s lost all notion of proper grammar, which to this listener at least conveys total lunacy.
The interplay of form and content is precisely why a band like The National has me all in the tizzy. In “Green Gloves,” when Matt Berninger sings in his smooth bass, “Out of touch with all my / friends are somewhere getting wasted,” the word “friends” must serve double duty to complete both sentences. Beyond that, it seems Berninger is so out of touch that he cannot complete the sentence in which he is asserting this point – which, of course, ensures that his point is asserted. Call me crazy, but this type of wordplay is the closest thing to this listener to the sublime. Plus the music kicks ass.
Interpol is playing KC next month. I am at best ambivalent. It’s not because they have suddenly burst onto the mainstream scene (although that's a small part of it). It’s not even just because the band’s overall aesthetic has changed (although that’s a big part of it). It’s because as Interpol move away from the dark dissidence of Turn on the Bright Lights – their form – they seemed to have taken content on a cruise, too. Oh Paul Banks, where are the obscure lyrics of yesteryear? When will you once more hold my sentimental side with kid gloves? When again can we be together in the jungle and it will be OK? The band will never write another “The New,” “Leif Erikson,” or “Stella Was a Diver and She Was Always Down” musically or lyrically, which means the Interpol I fell in love with are all but dead to me.
I am definitely more open-minded about music these days. I fall in love easier with new music, but it seems I’m also less able to forgive and forget when an artist fails to live up to their potential. My love’s a (finnicky) pony, you could say. Better yet, a bucking bronco.