Archive | Musical Interludes (Melodic thoughts from the Jester) RSS feed for this section

Top 10 Songs of 2011: #5: “Midnight City” by M83

27 Dec

Most of the time it takes a few albums before a band reaches its true pinnacle. Actually, most bands don’t reach this apex at all. But when bands do rise to a higher level, it is always so much fun to reap the benefits of this maturation. In M83’s case, the zenith was reached with the 2011 release of the double album Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, and specifically with the ethereal track “Midnight City.”

Anthony Gonzalez

M83 was Anthony Gonzalez and Nicolas Fromageau. Since 2004, though, it has been the baby of Gonzalez and whomever else he calls on to join him in creating music. Most consistently this has been percussionist Loïc Maurin, vocalist Morgan Kibby, and his brother Yann. For Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, Gonzalez called on Beck and Nine Inch Nails’ bassist Justin Meldal-Johnson, Zola Jesus, and even James King of Fitz and the Tantrums (remember him from yesterday’s post)?

Gonzalez took care of: vocals, art direction, backing vocals, clapping, conductor, design, electric guitar, keyboards, orchestral arrangements, piano, producer, programming, snaps, synthesizer.

I’d say he has a say in what is released. Meldal-Johnson also played a crucial role in the development of the album’s spacey and skillful feel. This is his line:

Acoustic guitar, bass guitar, clapping, electric guitar, engineer, keyboards, mandolin, percussion, producer, programming, snaps

What I am attempting to achieve in listing the credits is an understanding that Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming was put together by some very talented musicians and when a conglomerate of talented musicians produce successful work it sounds like this:

Interestingly, last year I featured “Flash Delirium” by MGMT at around the same spot on the 2010 countdown. “Midnight City” links up to MGMT’s hit slightly. They both toy around with neo-psychedelia, creative musical constructions, and heavy synthesizer sounds. But “Midnight City” takes on a dreamy electronica feel that “Flash Delirium” does not have. Music critics have labeled M83 as a shoegaze band, but, with “Midnight City” especially, I feel that Gonzalez has lifted the band beyond the conventions of that genre – immature wall-of-sound alt/rock effects and distortion – and into a realm of ambient fluidity that flows like warm water. The song is inviting, intriguing and insightful.

The first 40 seconds of the song deserve a breakdown. The very beginning of the song features a lone synth over a strung-out note. The synth in trademark M83 fashion (i.e. “Lower Your Eyelids to Die with the Sun” off of 2005’s Before the Dawn Heals Us”) tells a story. It speaks to the listener like a passionate lyric. A low bass is added into the mixture and supports this delicate combination until the song explodes with some more heavy synth, electric drums, and a female vocalists high hum. The resulting combination is flat-out magical. There is no other way to describe it. This combination will persist in the song, both haunting and inviting.

The verses feature a vocal interplay over some rhythm. The lyric is a little difficult to understand, but, in songs like this, the most important part is the melody and, well, you kind of create your own story. The video portrays their vision – an X-Men like jailbreak – but feel free to imagine what you’d like. I would like to point out one piece of poetry I find impressive:

Waiting for a roar
Looking at the mutating skyline
The city is my church
It wraps me in the sparkling twilight

Yeah, I kind of got that sense too when listening to the song. Yes, this is a little heavy-handed and grandiloquent, but, I still like the poetry.

I’m sure by now you are wondering where James King fits into all of this. He is a saxophonist, right. Well do you hear that incredible sax solo at the end of the song that plays over the repetition of the main theme. I think this was a highly intelligent touch in this song. King plays an energetic solo and it elevates the music to a new level until the fade.

Tags: , , ,

Top 10 Songs of 2011 – #6: “MoneyGrabber” By Fitz and the Tantrums

26 Dec

And it works because there are six people in the band!

Michael Fitzpatrick is industrious. He is also quite ambitious. While most people suffer post-break-up torpor, Fitzpatrick responded to a break-up by choosing to release his energy into canorous, Motown-esque, music. Music that fuses bitter lyrics with lively rhythm and melodies. Shortly after a break-up, he began making music, and in 2008, after receiving a call from the same ex-girlfriend that inspired him to make music in the first place, Fitzpatrick acquired an organ that her friend wanted to given away, and started to pump out hit, after hit, after hit. Talk about a muse.

He envisioned the need for horns in his musical compositions so he called on a college friend and saxophonist named James King who joined Fitzpatrick’s musical pursuits. The guitar-less sounds were pretty sweet so he decided to keep the six strings out of it. He then figured he would need a full band and a female vocalist. At King’s suggestion, Fitzpatrick called on soul vocalist Noelle Scaggs. A few more phone calls to other instrumentalists brought the bunch together and after the first rehearsal Fitzpatrick sensed they were ready to play a gig. Wait, what? After one rehearsal. Like I said, Fitzpatrick had a vision and, well, was lucky enough to meet it quickly.

One week after the initial rehearsal, Fitzpatrick booked the band’s first show and, you know what they say, the rest was/is history. It is current history. The band is on our 2011 list.

Lesson learned - Michael Fitzpatrick reacts best to negative love events.

Pickin’ Up The Pieces, the band’s debut release, was released in 2010, but the song featured in our countdown was released as a single in 2011 so it counts. What is perhaps most humorous about the 2010 album is the place of recording. The band couldn’t afford a studio so opted to record the album in Fitzpatrick’s living room – which was not soundproofed. The carefree nature expressed in the melodies was also evident in this situation where the band chose to just go with it.

Fitz and the Tantrum’s musical styling may come off as a direct homage to the sweet Motown soul and gritty Stax soul of the 1960s. The band makes use of the Motown organ, an airy, bubbly, and inviting organ that was popularized by bands like Motown’s Four Tops. But there is something else there. I believe it can best be described as 60’s R&B/soul a la Indie flavoring with drippings of 80s new wave. A tasty harmonious concoction.

“MoneyGrabber” begins with the pre-described organ that supports a percussion introduction and even some echoed ohs. And then BAM! The song explodes with sound. The horns sound off over heavy percussion and Fitzpatrick and Scaggs scream out (with excellent vocal interplay):

Don’t come back anytime, you’ve already run me dry
This is your pay back, money grabber

I think we know where this song is going. The verse features Fitzpatrick singing over a simple keyboard and light percussion. It is very stripped down. There is almost something Talking Heads or just David Byrne about his voice and demeanor. The song then enters the chorus on the tail of rising horns and then we get to experience the diapason again. And if there is any question of what the song is about how do you like the lyric featured in this amazing Sly and the Family Stone-like bridge:

One. Two. Leave
One is for the money
Two is for the greed
And three times that I told you you’re the one
I just don’t need

Just awesome!

Tags: , , ,

Top Ten Songs of 2011 – #7: “Battery Kinzie” by Fleet Foxes

23 Dec

Waiting for Helplessness Blues, the follow-up to Fleet Foxes’ eponymous first release in 2008, was like waiting for a New York Jets superbowl. It just never felt like it would come, despite how long I patiently waited. Robin Pecknold, lead singer, songwriter, and a whole bunch of other things, originally said the album would be released in 2009, but because of touring and other time constraints this was pushed back to 2010 and finally May of 2011. Honestly, I don’t even think that Pecknold and the band thought that there would be such demand for the second album. It probably caught them by surprise. They are pretty awesome though, so, they shouldn’t have expected less. Luckily, unlike a Jets Superbowl appearance in my lifetime, Helplessness Blues was released in May of 2011, an extremely successful body of 12 tracks that was received well by critics and fans alike.

The Foxes are Fleet!

After listening to the album once through I was also satisfied. It was seemingly a mirror image of the first release, but I had no problem with that. Fleet Foxes is a baroque folk band concentrating on mellifluous melodies, harmonious harmonies, and skilled acoustic instrumentation. Pecknold, whose father was in The Fathoms, a local Seattle 60s band, and guitarist Skyler Skjelset idolized artists like Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Brian Wilson, while they grew up and went to high school in a suburb of Seattle. When they began to make music and perform it, critics noticed that they were insanely talented in the songwriting and harmony categories. It was pretty clear from the start that they were going to make it. And, make it they did.

“Battery Kinzie” is not the favorite off the new album for most people. That would be the album’s title track “Helplessness Blues,” a passionate track that takes on a Mumford & Sons feel with rising crescendo (something that Mumford and Sons – Fleet Foxes British Folk counterpart – does in every one of their songs). It’s a wonderful piece and I do enjoy listening to it, but, it is not the best song on the album. That spot is reserved for “Battery Kinzie,” a song that tells the story of a man trying to get his love back and failing (the man appears as a motif in this semi-concept album and he does get back with the girl at the end of the album which is good if you like happy endings.)

So why is this song better? First off, I absolutely love that it hits you right away. Within the first 25 seconds of the song, the listener gets this pounding rhythm, an effortlessly strummed acoustic guitar, and Fleet Foxes’ trademark blend of sweet, sweet harmony. Pecknold belts out:

I woke up one morning
All my fingers rotting
I woke up a dying man, without a chance

The song rises like a man getting out of bed with a sharp sun puncturing and reflecting off the glass. But it does take a bit of a dark turn that strays away from the happy melody. This dark turn remains for the rest of depressing song. The instrumentation serves as a bit of a contradiction to the lyric. But, when looking into this some more, I actually feel that it’s apt. The music is constant and pretty static. It is wonderfully crafted, but it does not change much. There remains the pounding percussion, same three chords, and similar harmony. I think the song represents a moment in time so well because of this constancy. And that is at least lyrically what the song was supposed to convey.

My favorite portion is the chorus. The harmony is delightful. Do not wander through the dawn. The line is held out with delicate harmony. The song works so well and perhaps this is because it is a tight, short piece with no true opportunity for failure. I think, while it does seem like a bridge song, “Battery Kinzie” highlights the true strength of Fleet Foxes. Percussion, acoustics, and harmony.

Tags: , ,

The Winner of the X Factor is Melanie Amaro!

22 Dec

The winner of the first US season of the X Factor is Melanie Amaro

Good for her! I truly believed that it would be a close vote. While I ultimately thought that Chris Rene would take home the prize (and I eat crow on the prediction), Melanie totally deserved the prize. Her performance of “Listen” was the icing on the cake of a pretty flawless run. Congrats!

The poll results that were released earlier on the blog has Chris Rene winning by a slight margin. Slight is the key term. . Chris, in total, recieved 21 votes. Melanie came in second with 18 votes. Josh, third, with 16 votes. So the voting was pretty much all wrong (it was a small sample!). Thanks for voting and congratulations again to Melanie.

Top 10 Songs of 2011 – #8: “High Hawk Season” by The Mountain Goats

22 Dec

John Darnielle wrote the most prescient and topical song of the year. He totally predicted Occupy Wall Street. Those are two weighty comments. Don’t worry, I’ll explain this odd coincidence. I will also profile the number eight song on our countdown, “High Hawk Season,” which appears on The Mountain Goats’ like 400th album (13th studio album) All Eternals Deck which was released in late March.

I do seem to favor the work of John Darnielle and The Mountain Goats on this blog. I will not deny my bias. But can you blame me? Darnielle seems to release an album every month and every single album demonstrates musical maturity, lyrical precision, passion, and pure awesomeness. “High Hawk Season,” my favorite song on the new album, exemplifies all of these outlined attributes. Darnielle, as I’ve said many times before, is one of the greatest artists in the last 20 years. And while crowning a singer/songwriter with a cult-like following may seem baseless, well, why don’t you listen to his music.

These are what Mountain Goats look like when domesticated.

The Mountain Goats are John Darnielle, Peter Hughes (bass), and Jon Wurster (drums). Throughout the 90s, Darnielle released a lot of low-fi recordings and his music grew from there. Darnielle is consummate lyricist and this is his most noticeable strength. He also plays a mean acoustic guitar and has a distinctive nasally croon.

All Eternals Deck, was the Mountain Goats’ follow-up to one of their best albums (in my opinion) The Life of the World to Come, which featured twelve tracks, each one inspired by (and titled after) a single verse of the Christian bible. All Eternals Deck is a solid effort as a whole. It’s title refers to a set of fictional tarot cards (keep this in mind). But “High Hawk Season” elevates beyond its supporting tracks.

Now I say this prediction stuff in jest…mostly. The coincidence is pretty odd and humorous. “High Hawk Season,” as you will see by the lyrics, is a plea for a youth uprising. Darnielle beckons his listener to “rise if your sleeping” and “stay awake” because the “heat’s about to break.” As you know, the Occupy Wall Street movement didn’t begin until September. The album with the title referring to tarot cards was released in March. Okay, you say, so what. He didn’t mention New York, right? Actually, he did. This is the last verse of the song (in case you missed it):

Who will rise and who will sing?
Who’s going to stand his ground and who’s going to blink?
Surge forward from Van Cortlandt Park like frightened sheep
Spirit throngs that hoist us high, three thousand warriors deep
Spray our dreams on any surface where the paint will stick
Try to time the rhythm, listen for the click

Van Cortlandt Park is a park in the Bronx. He was off by 16 miles. That’s not too shabby. Take a look at that powerful lyric as well. Darnielle talks of a “throng” of “warriors” standing their ground and “spray(ing)” dreams on surfaces that will stick. Now if I was going to over-analyze this like a good English major, I would say that the spraying of the dreams and paint represents the signs and words and ideas (because a painting truly is at first an idea like all things), and the sticky surface would be the media that lapped up the coverage like a thirsty dog. The lyric is humorously on target. And, yes, you can say he was inspired by the Middle Eastern civilian rebellions, but, come on, he mentions New York.

The song itself is also memorable. It features barbershop quartet/monk-like background singers that provide this religiously lachrymose backdrop. Darnielle sings the verse in a very observational tone, as if he is simply explaining what is going on. The call-and-response chorus is a treat. I feel as if I can imagine Darnielle singing this in some tenebrous dystopia where, I don’t know, “the heat’s about it break.” The song remains entertaining but somewhat complacent until after the two minute mark where a light shines on Darnielle and he belts out the chorus like a call to action.

“Rise if your sleeping, stay awake. We are young supernovas and the heat’s about to break.”

Tags: , , , ,

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →