KWVA Playlist for Friday, Dec. 2, 2005
Lots of new music at KWVA today! I scanned the CD spines and realized that I didn't know half of the music. So it was a morning of digging through music, taking risks and hoping for the best. Fortunately I hit a lot of great music, and only a few duds. Apologies to anyone listening for the technical difficulties (editors note: "technical difficulties" in this case means the DJ hit the eject button while a CD was playing on the air. The difficulties are more related to brain issues than equipment. It's what happens when you give this guy airtime at 4 in the morning)
Here's the list:
Dizzee Rascal - I Go to Work
Death From Above 1979 - Romantic Rights
Smoosh - Rad
Sun Kil Moon - Never Ending Math Equation
The Juan MacLean - Give Me Every Little Thing (Cajmete Remix)
Trillville - Nothing Less
Wilco - I'm The Man Who Loves You (Live)
The Roots - Double Trouble (Homegrown Version)
Caribou - The Barn
Bell Orchestre - Les Lumieres Pt. 1
Induce - Rebirth's Reprise
Azalia Snail - Scenescape
Interpol - NARC (Paul Banks Remix)
Cat Power - The Greatest
Andrew Bird - Oh Sister
Dungen - Panda
Lady Sovereign - Vertically Challenged
Dengue Fever - Sni Bong
Colossus - Innacity
The Chap - I Am Oozing Emotion
Tre Hardson - Lead I'll Follow
Canibus - Benny Riley
Jameroquai - Feels Just Like It Should
Tristeza - Bromas
Antony and the Johnsons - Fist Full of Love
The Highlights: I am quite sold as of this morning on Caribou and Bell Orchestre. Bell Orchestre was pop in a Sufjan Stevens and Brian Wilson sort of way, with some obvious comparisons (if for no other reason than location, being Montreal) to Arcade Fire. The difference is I never hopped on the Arcade Fire bandwagon, because they just never grabbed me particularly. Bell Orchestra, at least for this track, has got my attention.
Induce was very mellow, and very pretty. Hip-hop for people who don't like hip-hop. Lady Sovereign has blipped on my radar many times, without my giving attention. But I threw it on today, and I'm a fan. Another DJ compared her to MIA or Dizzee Rascal on helium. That's a pretty good assessment.
The Duds: I can't stand behind Canibus or Trillville. They did not offend my musical sensibilities, but they did warrant an overwhelming shrug of shoulders and a vocal "meh."
Jamiroquai sounded great, but he gets the dud list because it was the ONLY good track. The next DJ after me threw him on, and it was pretty intolerable.
Next Show: I'm spinning Tuesday (Dec. 6) from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. Later in the week I'm hosting the One Band / One Hour show on Friday (Dec. 9). That show will feature Andrew Bird. You can listen to the station in Eugene at 88.1 FM, or online here.
posted by Aaron Burkhalter @ 5:24 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Upon further investigation I discovered that Bell Orchestre is actually led by an Arcade Fire member. Hence the the comparison is even more obvious than before.
I've been listening to it more today, and it's pretty good. Megan likes it as well, which is always nice. She is not, however, a fan of the parts where they break into some noise experiments.
We also listened to Dengue Fever, which is really catchy and a lot of fun. That gets added to the Highlights list effective immediately.
Arcade Fire is growing on me, as is Broken Social Scene. which I didn't like the first time I heard it.
Incidently, Bettye LaVette? Her album 'My Own Hell to Raise' is alot of cover songs done soul, and I love her 'Sleep to Dream,' which is a Fiona Apple song. Been meaning to listen to Fiona's new one as well.
My mind was totally blown by Antony and the Johnsons... they are the polar opposite of what I expected, in a really good way.
Death Cab for Cutie... someone said they were crap a couple years ago, and I believed that person, and now I disagree.
Right now listening to Feist... she was on All Songs Considered, also kinda cool.
My love for music has been rekindled of late... I can't believe what fantastic stuff is out there, hiding underneath ten metric tons of commercial crap.
I liked Death Cab for Cutie until I started listening to their lyrics and felt like I was reading someone's journal. It was an uncomfortable too-much-disclosure type of feeling, so I stopped listening to them.
I find that reading lyrics is often disappointing... listening to them divorced of their music makes me realize how important the method of delivery is to giving something meaning.
As a musical theater person, Jon, what do you think of that?
Courtney,
I'll be peeping out all the artists you mentioned. Bettye LaVette, Broken Social Scene and Feist are all holes in my knowleged.
Death Cab For Cutie has never really grabbed me particularly, but I never really gave them a chance either. I'll check them out too.
I think you are correct about the lyrics assessment. The music and the lyrics are a conjoined entity. It's the trouble I have when I start into my feeble attempts at songwriting. I can put together lyrics (sometimes) and I can put together some music, but putting those two items together ALWAYS falls flat for me.
There are three people in the coffee shop right now arguing. They think they're engaging in an intellectual debate, but one of them is being really antagonistic and it's turned into just a lot of yelling. And it's annoying. Poo to them!
One of the better observations of lyrics that has come from the musical theater, is that lyrics are not poetry. They are a different style of writing. Granted one can set poetry to music and it can sound pretty darn good, but lyrics are a different art. I'm a pretty decent poet, but my few attempts at lyricism floundered fairly quickly.
In theater, it's first priority to make sure the lyrics are being understood as delivered with the music. Almost the only time I read lyrics for non-theatre songs (e.g. Death Cab for Cutie) is if I've listened to the song for quite a while, or I just cannot understand the point of the song.
On the other hand, Rufus Wainwright I'm perfectly contented with not understanding, strangely because his music is so good, and the sound of his voice has a different realm. But as a theatrician (is that a word?) I definitely think that music and lyrics work best together.
That rambled about a little, but I think there's an answer in there somewhere. :)
First, do either of you remember a song, from roughly the time we would have been in high school, that was called something like 'standing in a broken phonebooth with money in my hands'? Anyway, it was a really long title for a cool song that was a one hit wonder so far as I know. but it randomly popped into my head.
One of the benefits of being in a Japanese Starbucks is that it is much easier to tune out people talking in Japanese around you. Of course, if someone is speaking English nearby, it's almost impossible not to follow the whole damn conversation. Had to listen to an ex-US serviceman explain why he supported the war in Iraq in a Mexican restaurant once. It was unpleasant as it was fallacious.
I have so little understanding of music and rhythm... it was always a bit of a surprise to hear my college prof tell me my poetry had wonderful rhythm. It is, I can assure everyone, entirely by accident.
How about Stars? they had a song in an NPR story about suicide off the Golden Gate bridge recently, but it isn't on their new album 'Set Yourself on Fire' and the beginning was so haunting.
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