“You know, Tommy and I went in the studio last week. We strapped on the guitars, not a word was said, and bang. We still rock like murder.”
Bob Mould, “The Descent,” from Silver Age.
I’d say “return to form” is a great description of this album, his best in, oh, 15 years or so. It rocks like Mould’s stuff hasn’t in a long time, and the rhythm section behind him (Jason Narducy and Jon Wurster) is pretty incredible.
I read that Mould got re-interested in doing this sort of music after DJing, and sitting in, with Foo Fighters - so I guess thanks are in order for Dave Grohl. Thanks, Dave!
I guess it was a blessing in disguise that MOG doesn’t have “Waterloo Sunset” - if it did, I never would have gone to YouTube looking for it, and I never would have found it, along with THE BEST SIDEBURNS EVER courtesy of Dave Davies.
In the wake of recent future-of-music discussions—Louis CK’s direct-ticketing move, which may indeed revolutionize touring for artists with that large of an audience, and the Emily White/All Songs Considered/David Lowery thing—I’ve been having arguments about record labels and money.
I was kind…
Graham and Kleenex Girl Wonder performing my favorite KGW song at Primavera in Barcelona!
…or else he might punch you.
Hell yes. A brand new video from my friend Corey’s band, Inspector Owl.
It. Is. Awesome.
Dawned On Me | Wilco
The health benefits of eating cans of Wilco are amazing.
Good morning.
(Source: pitchfork.com)
Giving “w h o k i l l” by tUnE-yArds another try on the strength of its Pazz & Jop win and today’s Klosterman piece on Grantland (and Maura’s educational follow-up.)
So far, it’s just like it was the first time. I love “My Country” in all its off-kilter, Radiohead-meets-Antibalas glory, and the “single,” “Bizness,” is pretty good. But the rest of it leaves me cold. In fact, it reminds me very much of Dirty Projectors’ Bitte Orca, an album that came close to topping Pazz & Jop two years ago and yielded for me one song I listen to all the time (“Cannibal Resource”) and nothing else.
This post (like many others) has far more parenthetical digressions than actual points. I guess I’m still surprised when an album (or movie, or book, or whatever) gets significant critical acclaim from people whose opinions I respect but leaves me cold. It’s the same way I feel about The Artist and Midnight in Paris, both of which got far more Oscar nominations (and plaudits from thoughtful critics and friends) than I think they deserved.
Working my way through the Pitchfork Top 50, looking for good albums I haven’t heard before. If I filter out any reviews that use the words “chillwave,” “electronica,” or “Brooklyn,” there’s some great stuff on here: Iceage, Cults, Thee Oh Sees, Yuck…
