There and Back Again

Ben and I finally made it to see Mount Eerie last night. It was quite the evening.

We caught at 5:20 pm Amtrak to Boston from Providence. Then we went to Cambridge, where Dave introduced us to the ghost of Henry David Thoreau. Then we went with Dave and Justin to a Chinese place with super-good/greasy kung pao chicken.

Next, it was to Mount Eerie. Dave, Ben and I found our way to the Massachusetts School of Art and Design via the Green Line, and found our way to the Pozen Center with the help of a few signs. The Pozen Center was essentially a ballroom. The stage was not used, and the floor-level set up forced everyone else to sit down on the ground. It was not crowded, so there was no issue.

Speaking of which, everyone was super-duper quiet. It was the most respectful audience I've ever been a part of. Oh, no, wait, Sigur Rós concert. Nevermind.

Calm Down, It's Sunday -- Fred Squire singing, guitar and Julie Doiron, drums -- and Julie Doiron -- Julie Doiron singing, guitar and Fred Squire, drums -- opened for Phil Elverum aka Mount Eerie aka The Microphones. Fred Squire was alright, albeit a bit high. Julie Doiron had a very pretty voice and overall kicked ass.

But Mount Eerie took the cake. Phil (as he introduced himself) is a nice guy. I bought a CD from him directly, which was cool.

He, Doiron, and Squire played through their new release, Lost Wisdom. It was stunning. The sound is very primitive and mature. There is something about how Elverum plucks a guitar that is special. Part of it might be the way his acoustic was amplified; rather than opt for a pick-up, he mic-ed it. You could really hear his fingers stroke the strings.

Julie Doiron's voice mixed beautifully with Elverum's, and Squire's reserved electric guitar did much to intensify the music and deepen the sound.

Cathartic. It was very cathartic to be in that room. Elverum's lyrics were beautiful, and his new songs possess a maturity that can't be found as much in his Microphones releases. Mount Eerie is something new.

Thanks to Rachel Gaudette for boarding Ben and me for the night at the last minute! You are best.

Mount Eerie with Julie Doiron and Fred Squire - What? (Lost Wisdom, 2008) (Made me cry.)

The Microphones - The Glow Pt. 2 (The Glow Pt. 2, 2001)

Mount Eerie/Julie Doiron

Phil Elverum, aka Mount Eerie, formerly known as The Microphones, came to Providence with Julie Doiron on Monday night.

I had a paper to write and couldn't go. Damn.

But there is still hope! He is performing at Mass Art on Saturday night at 7:30! Woo hoo! Tickets are only 10 bucks, too!

Mount Eerie/The Microphones are really weird. Their music is stirring, percussive, and primitive. It is unlike any other. It is violent. It is sweet. It is thought-provoking and philosophical. And to use a vague, unhelpful word, it is plain interesting.

Julie Doiron is beautiful.

I'll see you on Saturday.

Mount Eerie - No Inside, No Out (No Flashlight, 2005)

Julie Doiron - Tell You Again (Loneliest in the Morning, 1997)

Mount Eerie, Julie Doiron, and Fred Squire - Flaming Home (Lost Wisdom, 2008)

BUY No Flashlight

BUY Woke Myself Up

Citizen Hurricane

New Japanese Technology's new album, Strobe Lights and Hurricanes, is a significant improvement from June's California Blue LP.

It begins with a delicate, 7-minute acoustic guitar ballad, "Pianos Filled with Flames," which smartly alludes to Neutral Milk Hotel's "Holland, 1945".

It then gives way to my favorite track on the album, "Citizen Hurricane". "Citizen Hurricane" takes off at a high clip and stays there. It's the type of song that Elliott Smith would have put out if he had been alive to collaborate with the Flaming Lips in 2004. So, basically, it's effing awesome.

Enjoy:

New Japanese Technology - Citizen Hurricane (Strobe Lights and Hurricanes, 2008)

Head to Purevolume to download most of Strobe Lights and Hurricanes for FREE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, GRACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAY!!! IT'S GRACE'S 18TH BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

The Beatles - Birthday (The White Album, 1968)

Andrew Bird - The Happy Birthday Song (The Mysterious Production of Eggs, 2005)

Jens Lekman - Are Birthdays Happy?

Chemistry

This makes me happy. (Click image to enlarge)

I had my first chem lab today, and it sure was lonely with out Mr. Crisanti (and Dave Sawicki, of course).

A strangely fitting song ("come on, chemicals!"):

Of Montreal - Heimdalsgate Like a Promethean Curse (Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?, 2007)

PRE-ORDER Skeletal Lamping (due October 7th)

Lots of "Heartbeats"

I had no idea that I had so many versions of the song "Heartbeats," originally performed/written by The Knife. Since it was released on Deep Cuts in 2002, it has been made a smash hit in the UK by Swede José González (#1 ringtone download!) and remade through a huge number of remixes. Here is a small sampling. (I would like to especially draw your attention to the Scala & Kolacny Brothers version, which is done by a female choir. It is as beautiful as the Sirens.) So get your beeswax ready:

The Knife - Heartbeats (Deep Cuts, 2002)

José González - Heartbeats (Veneer, 2003)

Scala & Kolacny Brothers - Heartbeats (It All Leads to This, 2006)

José González - Heartbeats [rndnmbrs remix] (2006)

The Knife - Heartbeats (Rex the Dog remix)

PARRKA - Knife/Heartbeats (Grizzly Bear vs The Knife)

FREE DOWNLOAD OF NEW SCALA AND KOLACNY BROS. ALBUM HERE

7 Years

Well, it's been slightly more than that since 9/11/01. It is hard to believe. It does not seem like I was in sixth grade when the WTC fell and the Pentagon was hit and all of those other horrible traumatic things happened.

But we are seven years out, and it is interesting to look back and observe to what extent the ideas, images, and language of "9/11" have been incorporated into American culture.

Just last Thursday, I went to the Avon Cinema on Thayer St. to see Man on Wire, a documentary film about a French tight-rope walker who crossed between the Twin Towers in 1974. It was in many ways a comedy, and we chuckled and smiled in our old, red theater seats. But when the image of those towers flashed on the screen -- their construction, their monolithic presence, the view from the top -- a hush fell over the audience, and we were connected by the like-minded stress of the past. This memory is one that all American adults share.

In 2006, I had the honor of performing "Immigrants Still," a choral piece that connects to and comments on this memory, with the Connecticut All-State Chorus (under the director of Peter Bagley) and in the presence of its composer, Kenneth Fuchs. The piece is a setting of a poem by Richard Wilbur, poet laureate of the United States. It begins with soft vocal bells that chime to the word, "still," and ends with the same cadence. In between, the music describes the immigrants' journey through the centuries, the Statue of Liberty, and American solidarity. Look for onomatopoeia throughout, especially in the water section. It's really cool.

CT All-State Chorus, 2006 - Immigrants Still

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Also of interest:
Here is what Jon Stewart had to say on his first show following the attacks: