We missed Foxygen at SXSW due to them pulling out of their last couple shows in Austin. We weren’t too bummed because we had tickets to see them at the Echo in LA tonight. We arrived to hear the second band on the bill Sam Flax, who had a lead singer glammed out in a gold top and lipstick and a bassist who, depending on the angle, looked either 18 or 50. They had some good grooves but nothing special, to be honest.
Once Foxygen took the stage, there was a mania that took over parts of the audience which corresponded to the stage. Lead singer Sam France was full of bombast, gestures, and a great voice that unfortunately got lost during most of the Echo’s not-that-great sound system. The band careened through a bunch of songs that were raucous but still easy to listen to before getting to the first of the triumvirate of songs you’ve probably heard, Shuggie. On this song they seemed to settle into a calm for a few moments before exploding again into full-on rockiness.
Foxygen at the Echo.
France had been wearing a black hoodie during the first half of the show but then he threw it off for a white t-shirt that had scrawled “DIGITAL” on the front and “ANALOG” on the back. The standouts for them “San Francisco” and “No Destruction” were really great, as they toned down the volume a little and let France’s vocal stylings get to the forefront. “No Destruction” in particular is such a great song and they nailed it live, it showed the full potential of the band. It’s one of the best songs of the 10′s in my opinion.
And then to counteract that, they left midset, as a joke apparently, and then came back after about 30 seconds and admitted that the joke hadn’t worked. Later, a person in the audience shouted how they had not gotten to see them at “Southby” due to their cancellation of their last few days of shows. I cringed, as given the state of the band (who had just canceled their European tour due to exhaustion), I was worried that France would say “fuck this” and leave. But, guitarist Rado gave a witty “you should have come earlier” and they started their next song.
I hope this band can get their traveling act together because I think they really have something to show people. Despite the uneveness, they had great energy throughout their set. With their two main contributors in their early 20s, I can understand the ups and downs, and I hope the hiatuses serve them well and aren’t a harbinger of a breakup of the band. To highlight the chaos of their set, they brought up guys from the opening band Wolf Thompson and tried (and maybe succeeded?) at setting the Guinness World Record for most tambourine players on stage at once (I counted five). After the tambourines shuttled off, they played one more song that kept up the clatter of most of the set but somehow had people grooving along. When they finished, it was obvious the crowd wanted more, but there was not going to be another 30 second fake-out. The show was over. I hope to see these guys again.
After Local Natives, we had wandered in the direction of where we thought French singer Fredda would be doing a set, but then realized she was playing far away at a hotel. We swung by the food truck caravan and got a call from our friends that they were in line at the Belmont and that we should get over there. We finished our grilled cheese (yummy) and walked over to see the large line at the Belmont.
Actually two lines, one for badges and one for wristbands, those without either weren’t getting in. The lines were mostly there because Flaming Lips was playing, but we had also been enticed by several other bands on our respective to-see lists. We had a nice chat with some folks from Sweden in line and then got in within minutes of the doors opening thanks to our badges.
We snagged a prime spot in a corner about 10 feet from the stage. It was an outdoor venue with a small stage, a small area in front of the stage where we were and then a bigger patio a few steps above the front area.
It was crowded but not packed when the first band, Guards, took the stage. This was not one if the bands we came to see and I mistook them for Surfer Blood when they first started playing due to the languid guitar pop sound coming from the stage. Oops, I obviously am not a connoisseur of either band.
For the opening band of a 7 band bill, they were surprisingly good which is a testament to the depth of talent that SXSW brings to the table. Silver Linings is a good representation of the band’s style and one of the songs from the set I recognized when listening to them after SXSW. It has a catchy chorus, a neat guitar riff, and elements that would evoke shoegaze as well as power pop in the same song.
Their live show had a bit more zing than their recorded material and guitarist Richie Follin ventured out into the crowd with his guitar near the end of the set. Apparently there was a memo encouraging this behavior sent to bands, this was not the first, or last time, we’d witness this.
I only learned afterwards that Follin is the brother of Cults singer Madeline Follin and played guitar on that group’s album. I’m a huge fan of that record and looking back I can see some similarities. Cults is probably a bit more poppy and has a more polished sound, the Guards a little fuzzier around the edges. Fuzzy was my last impression of the band as they left one by one in a buzz of feedback.
We went back to the venue we’d seen Bastille at to try and catch Local Natives. We’d missed them in LA a couple times so I really wanted to see them.
Unfortunately, when we arrived it was packed and the “line” to get in was a cluster, to put it mildly. We got close to the front of the line while Shout Out Louds were playing. Since it was an outdoor venue on a patio below the street, between two buildings, we could see and hear the band.
Shout Out Louds are from Sweden and have the pop sensibilities that Swedes seem to be born with. They play hooky guitar pop that seemed to get the audience inside moving. I’ll admit that I was a little preoccupied with jockeying for position at the front of the line and so I probably didn’t get the full enjoyment from their set that I should have.
It became clear that we weren’t getting in when the security move the entrance to the line 5 ft from where it was when we were three people away from the front. This was the only venue all weekend that didn’t seem to have its act together with lines.
So we got to watch Local Natives from the sidewalk above, along with at least 100 others. Their brand of rock is well suited for outdoors on a sunny day, mixing guitar licks with harmonizing vocals. They did a mix of songs from their debut and just-debuted new disc. Taylor Rice gave a heartfelt thanks during the set to SXSW and its fans for helping their success to date. And that gratitude shone through in a tight set highlighted by closer Sun Hands. The crowd sang along with the chorus, the band freaked out appropriately with vicious guitar and drums missing, and then brought us all down lightly with an extended outro. Great end to the day portion of Thursday. Next up, night descends and more bands appear.
Moved over to the convention center’s Radio stage to see San Luis Obispo’s Cayucas. I’ve liked the two songs playing on satellite radio now so I was excited about their set. Those songs definitely have a beach-y vibe and their set lived up to that expectation. There was definite reggae and beach boys harmony influences, one of my friends thought Jimmy Buffett. They did have a pineapple maraca, so not entirely an unfair comparison.
As a new and “upcoming” band, they showed definite signs of nervousness. The big room was mostly empty which didn’t help as the good vibes they were sending out got lost quickly in the big hall. The songs were technically proficient and nice, but they couldn’t overcome the obvious uncomfortableness. The only one who seemed to be having fun was the keyboardist. I’d give them another chance at a smaller venue.
After Bastille, we headed to Latitude 30 which had been transformed into a British Invasion HQ. All afternoon they were having new British bands. We got there right before the start and just had a short wait. Once we got in, we realized there was free BBQ and alcohol. Lunch location solved!
The first band on was a two piece named Wet Nuns. They started by saying you wouldn’t find them on Google and then launched into a half hour thrash of heavy guitar riffs and drum crescendos. There was definitely some Sabbath influences and punk ethos going on. The guitarist wandered into the crowd during the last song and did some head banging. We had to move on, but I enjoyed this band and this is what I had hoped for from SXSW, hearing stuff I normally wouldn’t listen to.
Bastille is a London band and they had an energetic set. They got the crowd moving after the more sedate set before them. They have catchy power pop in the vein of Franz Ferdinand. The singer bounced around with the music, ventured into the crowd, and scaled some scaffolding , all while still singing. Will definitely check out their albums more closely when I get back. Now walking over to convention center for Cayucas.
First band of the festival for me. From Iceland a three piece with a cello, violin and keyboardist. Chill way to start day, preprogrammed drum loops with string music. Has that same soaring vibe of countrymen Sigur Ros. Funny banter from Olafur who doesn’t like the sun or Red Hot Chili Peppers. Recorded crowd singing a C and made it part of first song. Nice set. Next up Bastille.
So my friend Sriram mentioned to me that he was listening to albums from most recent Rolling Stone’s Top 500 albums. We started talking about doing an email discussion of some of the albums and posting them on our blogs. Our first choice was an album neither of us had listened to, Husker Du’s 1985 New Day Rising. Hopefully this will be the first in a series, there’s plenty of material in Rolling Stone’s list to talk about.
FROM: NIELS
TO: SRIRAM
Alright, I’ll get this started. I haven’t listened to the album yet. First, like any good blogger, I went to the authoritative source of our day to get some background on what we’re getting into. Wikipedia of course. All I knew before going to their wikipedia page was that they were from the Midwest, Bob Mould is prominently involved, they are often lumped into the category of “post-punk”, and musicians seem to like them a lot and throw them into conversations about influences. In fact, in listening to the Nerdist podcast with Henry Rollins, he mentioned them at least once and in glowing terms.
So, here’s what I found out. They are indeed from the Midwest, St. Paul, Minnesota. Bob Mould is one of three members of the band, they had a keyboardist originally but they kicked him out. They apparently weren’t going for this sound. When I think of three piece 80s rock bands from the Midwest, I think of the Violent Femmes, so it will be interesting to see how Husker Du sounds compared to them. The story of how they got their name is great, I’ll let you read that yourself. The band was signed during the time of New Day Rising to SST Records. I’m familiar with some of their other bands and I’m sure you are too: The Minutemen, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Black Flag. Given the good taste of label runner Greg Ginn during the early 80s, that makes me more excited about hearing this.
So why haven’t I heard this before? Well, first thing is that I was only 11 when this came out and I wasn’t cool enough to find this. Heck, I’m not sure if I even could have found a copy of this in Virginia at the time, pre-interwebs and all. And even as I grew older and got into most of the bands named above (Black Flag, I heard but never got too into), somehow the Du slipped through the cracks.
FROM: SRIRAM
TO: NIELS
I really wanted to listen to the album a couple of times, just so it did not fade into background noise while I was working or somesuch. The first time I heard the opening track, I was stricken – as the Rob Reiner character noted in Spinal Tap – by its unusual loudness. Are there any other lyrics to the title track than “New Day Rising” really? Of course that was a common theme of the album – lyrics were not precisely intelligible.
On the other hand, while I can have some snark about the lyrics, the Du clearly had to be a kick ass live act. The energy and force are there throughout – and it was easy to get into, even if it took a few songs to hit its stride. I certainly found the album uneven, but they definitely have talent.
FROM: NIELS
TO: SRIRAM
I’ve been through the album once and I had a similar reaction. Loud. And fast. And it’s relentless on both counts throughout. So, the opener does a great job of setting the tone for the rest of the album.
On this track in particular, as you mentioned, we’re not getting Bob Dylanish lyrical content. But I’m not a huge lyrics guy, so I was quite happy with the manic drumming and the buzzsaw guitar work.
I’m also with you that live they must have been something else. You used the word force, I think that’s a great word for them. As for the album as a whole, there were two songs that if I were doing an iTunes 1-5 rating would get 5s (not this one, we’ll have to cover those in another email), a bunch of 4s, and one that’s a borderline 2/3. So very good first impression for me. Snake draft-style, I’ll bounce back with an email on the next few tracks.
FROM: NIELS
TO: SRIRAM
The other word I forgot to include in my last email was tight. Most of the songs on the album clock in at under 3:30 and they pack a lot into those 180 seconds or so. The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill is the second song on the album and I liked this song much more than the opener. This one was written by drummer Grant Hart. I did notice that my two favorite songs on the album are Hart-written numbers and this is probably my third favorite. I know Mould is the one who’s gone on to a more successful career, but I’d like to learn more about Hart’s post-Du output given how much I liked his songs on this album.
At the core, this is a love song, as the singer pines for the opportunity to be with the eponymous Girl. I will admit I had to go to a lyrics site to nail down all the lyrics. Even without knowing all the words, this song had an anthemic quality to it. Slowed down a bit and take out some of the biting guitar and you could have an FM radio hit in the early 80s. Maybe this is just because I’ve been listening to him recently, but I also felt that this could have been an uptempo Neil Young/Crazy Horse song. Husker Du was supposed to have been influenced by and fans of “classic rock”, which I didn’t really hear the first time around, but I think this song has some nods to that oeuvre. I also like to think this is a song Kurt Cobain would have been listening to while recording Nevermind.
I Apologize is a good song, not quite on Girl’s level, but has a really catchy chorus. Veering from the wistfulness of the previous song’s lyrics, this song, as the title implies, is about a not-so happy topic. The singer is apologizing for something that may be to “my temper too quick/makes me blind” but then is asking for a reciprocal apology from his girl but isn’t getting it. The chorus kind of made me think this could have been an early REM song with the vocal harmonizing. This then gave me the mental picture of Michael Stipe playing this song, Bob Mould walking in and punching Stipe in the face, taking the lyrics and then “punking” it up.
Speaking of punk, Folklore is probably the most stereotypical punk song on the album. Short, fierce, angry lyrics. Not much more I have to say about it.
Back to you.
FROM: SRIRAM
TO: NIELS
Agreed on The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill – both in the lyrics needing some interpretation, as well as it having a much more classic rock tempo. Songs like this you definitely identify where they could have been serious influences on Nirvana and such. It is a good song. I guess when I’ve delved into punk and post punk, what interests me is when bands have been to elevate above simply being pure energy. I suppose that is a vestige of having been introduced to the form via stuff like The Clash and Ramones – which are much more refined and produced than things like the Germs or Buzzcocks or whomever. One of the reasons I was so fond of “Los Angeles” was seeing it be more than just John Doe and Xine playing very loudly. The songs were loud and kickass – sure, but there was some finesse there.
“New Day Rising” I actually appreciate as a tone setter – but it’s not a very good song. I Apologize and The Girl on Heaven Hill have much more classic rock sort of finesse as you say. But it is very good. But moving forward on the album – “If I Told You” is another very simple song lyrically – a shout to those who do not believe in the singers angst and problems. It’s actually almost as spare as the title track, but somehow a much better song and the vocals capture the emotion quite well.
“Celebrated Summer” is of course one of the two “anthems” cited by Rolling Stone in its blurb on this album – I’ll leave “Perfect Example” to you – and it is actually a little shocking to hear a song with a bridge after a few songs with quick entrances and exits. It is funny how the lyrics juxtapose the music here – Mould is harkening back to summers long ago – frankly, this could be Jan and Dean, well if Jan and Dean could play musical instruments like madmen and didn’t give a shit about harmonizing. Really, from this song I definitely got a feel for something that The Ramones could have done – there is quite a bit of polish here, for a hardcore song.
Overall, what is interesting about the album for me has been – well, when I was about to dive into it, the blurbs I had read had given me the indication of a much rawer piece of work than I am actually listening to. Don’t get me wrong – this is kickass, tight stuff. But after New Day Rising, the album slowly builds into stuff where Mould and Hart’s skill becomes more apparent, and the Du’s songwriting and fairly classic sort of influences are seen. I was not sure what I was expecting – but it is a much more refined sound than I anticipated – at least as the album builds towards the middle (I find it falls off in this respect near the end). Anyway, promise to get faster updates – I want to do this with a couple other albums (I’ll pitch the idea later).
FROM: NIELS
TO: SRIRAM
I’m with you on getting past punk’s energy and finding something more. When I first delved into punk with Fugazi all I noticed was the energy because it was such the antithesis of most of what I was listening to (a lot of Pink Floyd). They are obviously one of the ones that had musicianship in spades, but some others didn’t offer much beyond that ferocity that is punk’s trademark, and frankly that can get boring after awhile.Another band that I’ve been spending some time with that fits into the post-punk genre (I think) is The Jam and I feel some similarities running between the two: speedy and sharp edged. I’d think that Husker Du would have been listening to The Jam as they were recording this album.Back to the record at hand, good point about the bridge in Celebrated Summer. You left “Perfect Example” to me, but not much to say here, it seems like a little bit of a palate cleanser, stepping off the throttle a little bit but keeping the angst up to a 10.Now immediately following, they pick the tempo back up with “Terms of Psychic Warfare” which is my winner for song of the album. This would be the song that when it came on at a live show, I would be “yes! they played MY song”. The guitar riff is spectacular, the singing has the right amount of sneer (and is much more front and center than some of the other material) and they even throw in some backing vocals. Just a great little package of a rock song that’s over before you know it.
“59 Times the Pain” kind of sputters along following “Terms” but coalesces in parts with a nice riff and the spoken word portions of the vocals. “Powerline” is more consistent and straightforward punk with its “powerline” chorus, though they once again throw in a curve with the stripped down, bouncy outro.
The other standout track for me is “Books About UFOs”. We get some piano(!) and a rollicking beat. The singing here reminds me of Elvis Costello for some reason, with a hint of early Springsteen sprinkled in. This song definitely shows me that Husker Du had some serious flexibility music-wise when they wanted to stretch.
Which is kinda funny because the rest of the tracks seem to be a FU to anyone who thought “Books About UFOs” was where the album is heading in it’s last quarter. The remaining songs are pretty much straight-on punk rock. I think Gibby Haynes built his entire career out of trying to recreate closer “Plans I Make”. A word about “How To Skin A Cat”. This song is what I like to call the too smart for their own good song that creep into certain artist’s catalogs. When I first heard this I thought of another post-punk band, the Minutemen, and the similarly excruciating “Spoken Word Piece”. It’s something that I think could, at least in my mind, drag the whole album out of a top 500 list. But, it’s still a really entertaining album, with a lot of very good songs, and two five-star centerpieces.
Wanted to do a quick post to let everyone know that a new feature is active on Amazon’s Cloud Player. I had the player on my desktop before but hadn’t bothered to download it on my phone. Previously, the Cloud Player could be used to play digital songs purchased on Amazon (and your own library not purchased on Amazon up to a limit (5 GB?) after which you have to pay $25 to store more). Now, CDs that you’ve purchased going back to ten years will get added to your Cloud Player library. And new CD purchases will get “autoripped” to your Cloud Player.
Pretty neat idea by Amazon here. I downloaded the Cloud Player app and after signed in, it populated my library with songs I’d purchased on Amazon, including several CDs. The funny thing is a lot of those CDs were gifts for my father, so now I have access to several bluegrass, old country (Hank Williams) and Bruce Springsteen’s last album. This is nice for me, as they are things I might have borrowed from him at some point to rip, but now I don’t have to.
This is interesting by Amazon. You can find some values where MP3 albums are more than the CDs because now you’re getting a copy of the MP3 anyway when you buy the CD. You might also see used CD stores getting a bounty of “new” merchandise, because if you’re getting the MP3 when you buy the CD, what’s the use of the CD (unless you’re still into things like liner notes and artwork).
Some other points maybe tempering the good news. It’s unclear at this point, but I noticed some comments indicating that not all record labels are “playing” with Amazon, so you might not see every CD appearing in your library. Also, I’ve been reading complaints about the iPhone app because while the song is streamed the first time you play it, it appears the song is being downloaded into a cache for future playback, which could quickly become a space hog. Will have to figure out if that’s true or not. For now, I’ll listen to that Sara Watkins album I got my dad to expand his musical horizons and never bothered to get myself!
So my friend 
