It’s almost unbelievable that in the early 2000s, in the wake of a huge rock revival that glorified DIY guitar rock (the White Stripes), sneering punk vocalists (the Vines, Hot Hot Heat), cooler-than-cool swagger (the Strokes, the Hives), attitude-is-everything post punk (Interpol, the Killers), and ironic hair metal (the Darkness, Jet), one unassuming man with an acoustic guitar could whisper-sing his way to notoriety.
Month: July 2013
Record #210: Interpol – Antics (2004)
Interpol made one of the truly greatest records of their era. Turn on the Bright Lights was a tour de force that brought post punk into the modern era–a breakthrough that is still going strong today (Neon Trees does nothing but put Interpol songs through a top 40 machine). Unfortunately, that sort of impact would cast a long shadow on the rest of their career.
Record #209: Interpol – Turn On the Bright Lights (2002)
Back in the early aughts,a bunch of bands said, “you know what? Joy Division was really good” and decided to bring post punk back. This was an excellent decision.
Turn on the Bright Lights stands as probably the best testament to that. This record is a definite classic, attached to its moment in time (post 911 New York), yet timeless.Paul Banks’ vocals harken back to the post punk and new wave of the 80s while guitars and drums chop with frantic efficiency alongside some of the best bass lines ever composed.
From the opening guitar tremolos to the reverb that rings out at the end of “Leif Erickson,” TOTBL is a perfect statement, and one that would haunt the band for the rest of their career.
Record #208: Huey Lewis and the News – Sports (1983)
You said it, Bender.
Record #207: Hot Hot Heat – Make Up the Breakdown (2002)
If you don’t think this record is great, you’re wrong. It caught my ear upon its arrival when my family had cable and Fuse still played music. I was a tenth grader with Dashboard Confessional, Finch, and Thursday in my CD player when I first saw a crazy music video by a bunch of moptops called Hot Hot Heat playing a song called Bandages.
Record #206: Gustav Holst – The Planets (1962)
Most of my classical collection has been exempt from this project on account of my lack of knowledge on the subject (and the time commitment required). However, there is one classical work with which I have a long standing intimate knowledge of: Gustav Holst’s The Planets. Continue reading
Record #205: Fugazi – Margin Walker (1989)
And the gaps in my Fugazi collection continue to grow smaller (one remains, if you’re not counting Instrument Soundtrack as a true album, which I don’t). Margin Walker, their second EP, sees the fearless foursome showing a drastic leap forward in composition that makes Repeater look like a step back.
Record #204: Heavenly Bodies – Celestial (1988)
Sometimes, it’s possible to predict how a record will sound using context clues. And judging by the band name, song titles, astral-philic record cover, and release date, it’s easy to tell what Heavenly Bodies’ sole release would sound like.