It's strange how the smallest thing can make a song. I've often latched on to what could be considered a relatively minor element of a track and proclaimed it the source of all the song's greatness (or something suitably grandiose). I'm not talking about the obvious things, like the hook or the lyric, but something small which only occurs once or twice, and probably only for a second or two. A drum fill, a guitar/bass lick, the pronunciation of a certain word... maybe I'm getting terribly geeky here, but I seem to keep noticing them.
Click the readmore for a few examples of what the hell I'm talking about.
The song that made me think of this now is a timeless classic, but one which I've always thought has a definitive 'best bit'. We all know that the solo in Something by The Beatles is awesome, but there's a tiny flourish towards the end which is the absolute king of throwaway guitar flourishes. It happens twice, and then slightly differently a third time, but the first one is so effortlessly perfect that it gets me every time.
The Beatles- Something
...and the little thing
Bon Iver's Creature Fear is a juxtaposition of subdued verses with choruses that seem to want to explode with emotion. At the end of each chorus the bass seemingly can't take it anymore and spills into a funky little lick. It's awesome.
Bon Iver- Creature Fear
...and the little thing
I'm quite a fan of the Chili Peppers' Stadium Arcadium, and typically, most of its highlights come courtesy of the godlike genius that is John Frusciante. When 21st Century slows down for a few bars it's Frusciante's guitar that teases the chorus back in. I might be overstating it's greatness here, but it's possibly the greatest two seconds in the history of guitar playing.
Red Hot Chili Peppers- 21st Century
...and little thing
Another example of a lead-in to a section turning out to be the highlight of the song: I've always thought the bass in Glass Danse by The Faint was great- simple yet effective- but apparently the bassist couldn't resist getting a bit funky just before the second verse kicks in. Thank god for the irresistible power of funk.
The Faint- Glass Danse
...and the little thing
I can't seem to think of any more of these offhand, but no doubt they'll jump out again when I hear them. Am I being reeeeally over analytic, or does anyone else pick apart songs into minute fragments like this?
It's The Little Things...
Listen to New Bon Iver EP
Bon Iver's first release since the incredible For Emma, Forever Ago is due to come out on january 19th. The four song EP entitled Blood Bank is now streaming in it's entirity on the band's myspace page. Yes, I say 'band' rather than 'man', as this record is where Bon Iver properly evolves to full band status. Will the magic be lost? Judging by the new tracks heard at their recent Tripod show... maybe.
Apparently the EP's only gonna be up there for "a few days", so get in there while you can.
Bon Iver on myspace
Albums of the Year 2008 (Rob)
It's end-of-year-list time again, and this year it's been particularly tough to round up a top ten. There were plenty of great albums out there, but there also seemed to be a big gulf between the few truly amazing records and the far more populated category of 'pretty good'. Find out what's made the cut in the readmore.
10. Simon Bookish - Everything/Everything
This year saw classical composer-come pop genius Leo Chadburn release his most accomplished album to date under the Simon Bookish moniker. Everything/Everything is elaborately & impeccably orchestrated, while at the same time being lyrically fantastic. It the kind of album that's strongest point is how damned interesting it is- strange arrangements will come out of nowhere, making you sit up and take notice. That said, at the end of the day it is a pop record, so all that aside, the songs are still enjoyable as hell.
Listen:
Simon Bookish - The Flood
9. Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer
The second album from canuck supergroup Wolf Parade is a thoughtful, rich affair. A fine follow-up to 2005's 'Apologies to the Queen Mary', it has shades of everything from Britpop to Bonnie Prince Billy. All made nice'n'hooky by the distinctive guitar of former Hot Hot Heat mastermind Dante DeCaro.
Listen:
Wolf Parade - Soldier's Grin
8. Santogold - Santogold
Fusing hip-hop, punk rock, and a whole lot more, Santogold's debut is nicely bold in the realm of pop. LES Artistes was one of the songs of the year for me, and the album contains a handful more gems. Expect huge success in the next year.
Listen:
Santogold - I'm A Lady
7. MGMT - Oracular Spectacular 
Another indie debut made good, this album soundtracked the summer as MGMT went stellar. Though marred slightly with a bit of filler, you can't argue with awesome singles like Kids, Time To Pretend & Electric Feel.
Listen:
MGMT - Kids
6. The Faint - Fasciinatiion
I love The Faint. This is fairly clear. So with their return after a four year absence I was pretty happy to say the least. Fasciinatiion is a touch more dancy & electro than the band's previous offerings, and has all the class that made them one of my favourite bands in the first place. One of the highlights of my musical year was when I first got hold of 'The Geeks Were Right', the first track released off the album. There was a touch of ceremony about going to a quiet room, getting 'the good headphones' and sitting down to really listen to it. It didn't disappoint.
Listen:
The Faint - Forever Growing Centipedes.
5. Story of Hair - Cheap Rate
In a year which had a crazy amount of quality Irish albums (in fairness, we could probably populate this whole list with Irish acts), this one stands out for me. Being a fan of the Hair's live show, a lot was expected of this debut LP, and I was by no means let down. From maniacally happy to reassuringly pensive, the band barely put a foot wrong in these fourteen tracks. Being the pop-whore that I am, getting an album with as many shamelessly feelgood tracks as this feels like heaven. It's also great to see a set of quality tracks actually being realised impeccably on record. It sounds like a simple thing to do, just put a mic up and press record, but it doesn't always work out that way and something gets lost (for me, this is the reason the excellent Fight Like Apes aren't quite making this list). The song below is also undoubtedly one of the songs of the year.
Listen:
Story of Hair - Unsteady
4. Why? - Alopecia 
I am a relatively recent convert to Why? (thanks, Ste), but this album wholly converted me. On paper it really shouldn't work. Alt-rap, folk-hop, whatever you want to call it... it seems like a fusion doomed to failure. But it works. It hella works. Alopecia is one of those albums which stayed in my stereo for months, each and every song growing on me in turn. It's got so many elements in it that there's something for everyone- and for all that quality hip-hop to suddenly break into an metal-sounding guitar riff is something so insane it's brilliant.
Listen:
Why - The Hollows
(This is where it gets very hard. I've spent weeks trying to separate these top three entries, and have decided it's just impossible. So first place is a three-way tie).
=1. Jape - Ritual 
This was another much anticipated album, one which any attendee of Jape's legendary live shows will have been expecting to be filled with greatness. And it was. Taking indie electro by the horns Richie Egan & Co. got everyone dancing, and grounded the party with what are some undeniably great songs. From the frenetic I Was A Man to the now legendary ode to Phil Lynott, every track on the album is fantastic. It makes me want to buy a synth or two. And possibly grow a moustache.
Listen:
Jape - Strike Me Down
=1. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
This is one of those out-of-the-blue masterpieces that so perfectly defines the musical year. Justin Vernon's tale of woe and redemption through music plays out in magnificent lo-fi, and it couldn't have worked better any other way. The album's circumstance has already become the stuff of legend, with the story behind it's conception becoming almost as enduring as the music itself. As for the songs- with only nine tracks there's not much room for filler, and every song justifies it's place completely (OK, with the exception of Team, which I'm assuming is merely an extension of Creature Fear). I've always been a fan of the ol' acoustic album, and this is by far the best of it's kind in many a year.
Listen:
Bon Iver - The Wolves (Acts I & II)
=1. TV On The Radio - Dear Science 
I'll admit straight off that I have a tendency to get very excited about certain bands, and in the process heap so much praise upon them that it could be considered by some as somewhat of an exaggeration. That said... TV On The Radio are probably the greatest band in the world today. Dear Science is another stage in evolution for a band that had already completely won me over, and with this stage they flex their pop muscles while still maintaining their distinctive production and powerful energy. At times during Dear Science one would be forgiven for thinking that the band are channeling the souls of some of Motown's greatest stars. Guitar licks like those on lead singles Dancing Choose & Golden Age are made for dancing, and dancing with soul. The album's masterstroke, however, comes with the understated Love Dog, which is an astonishing recording where not a single note is wasted, and every subtlety is hugely effective. There's so much to enjoy here, and given that at this stage TVOTR have officially 'lived up to the hype', there's so much to be excited about the future for.
Listen:
TV On The Radio - Love Dog
Honorable Mentions:
First one has to go to Passion Pit, who's Chunk of Change EP is one of the bast things I've heard all year, and would have made it very, very high up this list if only it had had a couple of more tracks on it and actually qualified as an album. I can imagine they will probably be featuring on this list next year.
As for the others... Hot Chip's 'Made In The Dark' ('Shake a Fist' was definitely one of the songs of the year)... Tokyo Police Club's 'Elephant Shell'... Elbow's 'Seldom Seen Kid'... Department of Eagles - In Ear Park... The Most Serene Republic - Population... Irish favourites included Adebisi Shank, Fight Like Apes & Queen Kong/ You're Only Massive...
New New Bon Iver Song
Entitled 'Babies', from a live show in Copenhagen. Props to Ian @ Thrill Pier.
Sounds very good- much more so than Blood Bank, the kinda standard rock number played at the recent Tripod show.
More, please, Mr. Vernon.
Bon Iver- Babies (Live)
Bon Iver At Tripod
Bon Iver played to a full house at Tripod this week for one of his many, many 2008 Irish shows. I'll admit I was worried about the show due to (a) the tremendous hype surrounding Bon Iver and (b) the transition from one-man-band to full ensemble.
Click the readmore for conclusions, and some videos.
Whereas some of these fears were proven to be justified, the gig was a good one, and had some amazing moments. Hype-wise, it worked out well- I don't think Tripod is a venue that lends itself well to sell-out shows. It can get to the stage that it's uncomfortably packed, and if that's the case you're lucky to get anywhere with a decent view of the stage. Because of the reverential awe most audience members felt for Mr. Vernon & co. the crowd seemed quite civilized. There was no pushing & shoving, and certainly no talking. It was almost like going to the cinema...
The band featured Vernon & three other musicians playing a variety of instruments- all of whom contributing to the excellent harmonies for which the album is famous. Opening with a delicately powerful performance of Flume, I'm led to believe that the show may well turn out to be as amazing as all the crazyhype suggests. But it soon becomes evident that there are two problems. There have been some translation issues with the material. Obviously moving the songs from their multi-layered, lo-fi incarnations to the realm of full bands and live shows has involved the making of some decisions as to the arrangements, and unfortunately they don't always work.
There is a hint of overstatement about some tracks- where everything is embellished, and everything is announced. 'For Emma, Forever Ago' features some fantastic moments of pure spontaneity, none more obvious than in the track Creature Fear. On the record the chorus crashes in from nowhere, where every instrument spilling out notes blissfully. At Tripod the chorus of this song is preceded by the strumming equivalent of someone shouting 'HERE COMES THE CHORUS!'. This seemed to occur a lot- movements were announced either by the guitars or the drums, and it seemed unfortunate that the inventiveness of the songs was suffering.
When the arrangements were right, however, they were hella right. Skinny Love was played with three drummers, all building to a crescendo that is truly spine-tingling; and Blindsided gets an interesting & welcome accompaniment by some retro-sounding 808 electronic drums. At points like these, and when Vernon plays RE: Stacks on his own as part of the encore, it's clear that these songs are something special.
The main question is whether or not lightning will strike twice. The band obviously have a shortage of material- the album has nine songs, and the set only contains one new one, Blood Bank, which seems more traditional alt-rock than anything else, and makes me wonder where the followup to 'For Emma...' is going to go. Eager to give the audience a full show, the band have filled out the set with three covers. The first, a Graham Nash song, seems strangely like a song from a musical, but is interesting enough to make an acceptable addition. The second was a Talk Talk cover, which frankly didn't work and for probably the only time during the show had people chatting or hitting the bar.
The show concluded with the third cover, a Sarah Siskind track, and the performance of this song embodied everything that's great about Bon Iver. It's a vocal led song, and the band all huddled around a single microphone to contribute. I'm not going to tell you how good this was, you're going to have to watch it for yourself. Here's a video from their New York show, featuring The Bowerbirds:
All in all, while the gig had it's flaws, in pointing them out I'm really just nitpicking. From an album this good, expectations for the live show were always going to be unrealistic, and the Saskind song alone made the show a good one. Bon Iver will be back in December, and I highly recommend that anyone not yet converted should check it out (tickets here). Let's just hope for the sake of the regulars that Vernon have a chance to pen a few more tunes in the meantime.
While I'm posting about Bon Iver, here's an outtake from their Blogotheque sessions which features a pretty bitchin accapella version of For Emma:
Bon Iver Myspace Sessions
Bon Iver have taken part in Myspace Transmissions, performing four tracks live for the online series. The audio tracks are compiled together for an Ep which is available as a free download from the site (click), where you can also watch videos of the performance.
Here's For Emma:
covers for a wednesday
Two covers first one is Radiohead covering Neil Young's "Tell Me Why"
The second is Bon Iver performing the fourth track "Blue Tulip" from the new Okkervil River album The Stand Ins.
New Bon Iver Track
Via Nialler via The Middle Distance Runner comes a live take of a new Bon Iver track.
It makes me wonder how much the band will be involved with the live performance, as having not seen him live yet, I almost expected a completely solo show for his upcoming appearance at Tripod. Sounds good though...
While we're at it, here's Creature Fear, from the excellent Black Cab Sessions:
Lovin's for Fools
Bon Iver & Bowerbirds cover Sarah Siskind's "Lovin's for Fools" at the Bowery Ballroom, New York, on July 29, 2008.
I really, really like Bon Iver
Just to let you know.
I know I should have realised this weeks if not months ago, but what can you do. So I'm just saying. The album is beautiful, and I'm gonna let it sink in a bit more before I post anything else on him. Just consider this a heads up- I will be gushing.
Here's something to start you off:
Bon Iver- Blindsided
Click for mp3
He's playing in Tripod on October 7th. Tickets are 22.50-27.50, and I'd recommend getting them quick.
FINAL CONFIRMATIONS FOR ATP VS PITCHFORK LINEUP
The last two bands have been added to the might ATP vs Pitchfork festival (which i finally booked my ticket for yesterday)
and the last two bands are Washington DC noise-rock supremos Girls Against Boys on the ATP side and on the Pitchfork side, we have the very hotly tipped newcomer Bon Iver.
Bon Iver -- Flume
girls against boys - superfire
the full line up is
CHOSEN BY ATP
WEEN
SEBADOH
FUCK BUTTONS
PISSED JEANS
APSE
THE BLACK ANGELS
SHIT AND SHINE
MEAT PUPPETS
DEERHUNTER
WOODEN SHJIPS
MARISSA NADLER
REDD KROSS
EVEN
BLACK MOUNTAIN
HARMONIA
CAR SICK CARS
HOWLIN' RAIN
BORN RUFFIANS
GIRLS AGAINST BOYS
CHOSEN BY PITCHFORK
DIRTY PROJECTORS
OF MONTREAL
CARIBOU
MAN MAN
GLASS CANDY
LOS CAMPESINOS!
NO AGE
LES SAVY FAV
HOT CHIP
BLACK LIPS
THE HOLD STEADY
YEASAYER
A PLACE TO BURY STRANGERS
JENS LEKMAN
THE CLIENTELE
VAMPIRE WEEKEND
JAY REATARD
TIMES NEW VIKING
BON IVER
