Lyric Love: LCD Soundsystem's "Pow Pow"

So times have been tough, and times have been tough
You have been put down, washed up, erased out
But honestly, and be honest with yourself, how much time do you waste?
How much time do you blow every day?
-LCD Soundsystem's "Pow Pow"

I LOVE LCD Soundsystem. I saw their set at Pitchfork this year, and it was fabulous. My only complaint was that there wasn't more dancing in the crowd. I'm going to see 'em tomorrow night at the Aragon with Hot Chip (another amazing show), and there damn well better be more dancing. I'm just sayin'...

I love how much his music makes me want to get my groove on. He always starts with a beat that makes you feel, regardless of how simple some of the beats are, and then he adds layers and layers of pure genius. I'm a fan of LCD Soundsystem and Sound of Silver, but have probably listened to This is Happening the most. One of my favorite tracks off the album on first listen was "Pow Pow." Like many of his songs, "Pow Pow" starts small and escalates into a multi-layered pile of wonder. I love the elongated climaxes he so often creates. Plus, the lyrics are simple and awesome = simply awesome. The first time I heard him say, "be honest with yourself, how much time do you waste? How much time do you blow every day?" I felt the shame often felt in toddlers when their parents simply look at them when they've done something wrong. It's so true, I waste so much time everyday. Damn facebook...

Thankfully, "Pow Pow" was played during his P4K set, and it was awesome. For such a new track, a lot of the crowd was screaming "advantages!" along with me. These are the moments I live for. Last I heard, "Pow Pow" is the next video LCD's releasing off the album, so I suspect it'll be on tomorrow's set list as well. SO excited. :)

I heard an interview with James Murphy on NPR where he talked about how he was always attracted to music, and how he originally started on guitar. But he didn't feel especially connected to the guitar, so he moved to drums and then DJing. Thank God he decided to venture, because I'm not sure we'd have all these LCD Soundsystem goodies if he didn't.

Check out "Pow Pow" below, the full lyrics HERE, and as always, click the pic for more.

Check Out Sufjan Steven's New Album

Sufjan Steven's newest album, The Age of Adz, is streaming on NPR's First Listen! I included a player below, but you should visit NPR to see what they had to say about the new release, including "Stevens replaces delicately plucked banjo lines, wispy vocals and sentimental melodies with glitchy soundscapes, hip-hop beats and heavily filtered vocals." <-- How exciting is that?! The stream is available for FREE until the album is released on October 12, on Asthmatic Kitty. Enjoy!

Album Review: Of Montreal's False Priest

False Priest, Of Montreal’s follow-up album to 2007’s Skeletal Lamping, is officially out today, although I’ve been voraciously listening to it since it appeared on NPR’s First Listen last week. I find this album to feel less light and flutteringly-chaotic than Skeletal Lamping, although it thankfully contains an acceptable amount of the clever lyrics, abstract instrumentation and danceable beats I’ve come to expect from Mr. Barnes.

The songs on False Priest deliver a tighter and cleaner version of pandemonium than I anticipated, and word on the street is that’s due to producer Jon Brion’s involvement (Kanye, Spoon, Rufus, etc). I’m certainly not disappointed by this. The juxtaposition of sounds I loved so much on Skeletal Lamping (because they soothed my A.D.D.) are still present, they’re just not as frequent or backed by a full a-day-in-the-life-esque orchestra.

Another unique addition to this album are the collaborations with Solange Knowles (“Sex Karma”) and Janelle Monae (“Enemy Gene”). Both females add a wonderful touch to their respective tracks without really leaving their mark. I felt they both fit nicely within the songs, serving more as another layer of instrumentation rather than a distracting force to Kevin’s vision. I was hoping for something a bit more badass from Solange though.

(Here's a picture of Solange wearing the fabulous shoes I posted about here. Add those shoes to the fact that she's Beyonce's sister + Jay-Z's sister-in-law + has collaborated with Of Montreal = I'm so jealous)

I was an early fan of “Coquet Coquette,” but some of my other favorite tracks include:

• “I Feel Ya' Strutter” – a great opener. It’s upbeat and classic Of Montreal. I love it.
• “Our Riotous Defects” – contains a superbly hilarious little monologue regarding the crazy girl he’s dating that makes me chuckle every time I hear she killed his betta fish: “My god, I should have realized on our second date when you dragged me into the bathroom at Tenika’s house and screamed at me for like 20 minutes because I contradicted you in front of your friends. I was like, oh. And then later that night at my apartment as punishment you killed my betta fish. Just threw it out the window.” Hahaha. As of right now, my favorite song on the album.
• “Hydra Fancies” – ridiculously catchy, and definitely a more doo-wop feel with this track. I love the way the song feels at 1:12 and 2:17, when the sound progression drops for an instant and is restarted with an almost humorously distorted bass sound. It’s these little things that get me…
• Directly following “Hydra Fancies” is “Like a Tourist,” which has an immediately more fierce and defined sound. This song definitely displays a lot more of the seemingly random song transitions I loved on Skeletal Lamping.
• “Girl Named Hello” – definitely a driving beat with great lyrics: “If I treated someone else the way I treat myself, I’d be in jail.” An easy one to find yourself dancing too and singing along with on first listen.
• I think “Around the Way” is the song I’d vote “most likely to be heard on Skeletal Lamping.” A larger sound with more layers of instrumentation and more dramatic phrasing; however, I found it to be one of the sharpest and angriest songs on the album too.
• “You Do Mutiliate?” – Woah. Hey, Of Montreal, way to be deep and inspirational through a scary voice manipulator thingy. Some great points and interesting statements in this song, but I don’t think it’s for your Mom or some first-time Of Montreal listener. They’d both think you’re a little crazy for recommending it. I love it. Check it out and be prepared for such thought provoking statements like “Everybody’s searching for a cause, a reason to blow themselves up.” “When will certain people realize an afterlife is nothing to live for, nothing to die for, nothing to fight for?” “If you think God is more important than your neighbor, you’re capable of terrible evil.”

I love this album. I love Polyvinyl. I love Of Montreal. I love Kevin Barnes. I LOVE that I’m seeing Of Montreal on September 25 at the Aragon. I loved seeing them at Lollapalooza in 2009. I love Skeletal Lamping. And Hissing Fauna. And Sunlandic Twins. …just so you know.

A Few Things...

1. Pluots are amazing. Apparently they're a cross-breed of a plum and apricot (70% plum, 30% apricot). It's a juicy, orgasmic sensation for your mouth. Do yourself a favor and purchase some next time you see them.
2. The Blow is playing The Empty Bottle on November 13! SUPER excited about this, since Paper Television is one of my favorite albums.

3. Of Montreal's new album, False Priest, is streaming on NPR until the album's release on September 14. I've had a few listens, and I LOVE it. LOVE. For your convenience, you can check it out below. Enjoy! :)


PS I love you NPR's First Listen. I think you're awesome. I have a crush on you. Peace be with you.

NPR and Amazon Pick Their Top 50 Albums of 2010 (So Far)

NPR (listener voted) and Amazon (editor voted) recently released a list of their top 50 albums of 2010 so far. Only thirteen albums made both lists, but no albums landed the same slot. I listed some of the details below, but I encourage you to click the links to check them out.

NPR's No. 1 album so far is Gorillaz's Plastic Beach. I found this album enjoyable for sure, but my preference more closely aligns with Amazon's No. 1 pick, LCD Soundsystem's This is Happening.
The 13 albums that made both lists are listed below (Artist: Album, NPR rank, Amazon rank). Hold Steady's Heaven Is Whenever ranked the closest on both lists, ranked as No. 32 on NPR's and No. 33 on Amazon's. Dead Weather's Sea of Cowards had the largest disparity when comparing lists, ranked No. 29 on NPR's and No. 5 on Amazon's.

1. Gorillaz: Plastic Beach, 1, 12
2. The National: High Violet, 2, 14
3. Broken Bells: Broken Bells, 4, 25
4. LCD Soundsystem: This Is Happening, 5, 1
5. Yeasayer: Odd Blood, 12, 29
6. Janelle Monae: The ArchAndroid, 24, 8
7. Surfer Blood: Astro Coast, 26, 9
8. Dead Weather: Sea Of Cowards, 29, 5
9. Hold Steady: Heaven Is Whenever, 32, 33
10. Erykah Badu: New Amerykah Pt. 2, Return Of The Ankh, 42, 23
11. Kings Go Forth: Outsiders Are Back, 45, 48
12. Corinne Bailey Rae: The Sea, 46, 27
13. Sade: Soldier Of Love, 47, 37

Sad to see Delta Spirit's History from Below missing on both lists...