It is my estimate that the few but beloved readers of LARS are roughly in their 20s. And, if I’m right, this entry will be particularly relevant. For it’s about malaise. Malaise and irrelevance. Or, rather, the creeping approach of the two into our lives. But I transgress…
It’s hard when you’re 20-something and beginning to end chapters of your life (college, grad school, dating, drug habits) to start others. It’s even harder not to feel…well…irrelevant. The contributions that we’re making to society at this point in our lives are miniscule at best, humble warm-ups to what we hope will be a successful career and a world of fame and fortune. But right now, most of us are probably floating by and taking what we can out of it. We’re in small rock bands in New York, catching some good bills at the Continental and perhaps even Rothko. We’re NYU students trying to pay off loans and make a major in “Music Journalism And Photography” somehow payoff. Sometimes we’re both. But is it enough? Is it relevant? Or is it just a horrible consumption of valuable time?
Why the existentialism? I know, it’s gaudy and poorly written. But, to be completely honest with the proverbial “you”, this is the first (and hopefully only time) I am writing on this blog/website/horrible consumption of valuable time about personal matters. Lord help us.
The problem is this: I can’t help feeling irrelevant. It’s both an age thing and a circumstantial thing. I’ve been away from LARS for a while now. But I’ve also been away from New York City for almost three months. And that’s pretty fucking hard, let me tell you. Was it consensual? Of course. I made a decision to stop spinning my wheels and step off the treadmill for a bit, rest my legs. I also needed to stop because, as fate would have it, I have a gallbladder from hell. I fear the Antichrist is residing somewhere in my right upper abdominal quadrant.
So here we are. Should I stay or should I go now? I can’t not continue this, I love this (writing about, researching, watching, and listening to music). That won’t change no matter how many quarter-life crises I have. But I suppose the purpose of all this is to issue a memorandum of sorts. I’ve never claimed to be particularly punctual when it comes to these entries. I’m still not entirely sure they’re worth it because I know ten web resources off the top of my head that are a million times better than this site. But I’m going to keep doing this; the steady stream of worthwhile and genuinely talented music is too addictive now to stop. So LARS will go on, with the moon and the stars and the sun. It just won’t be that punctual. Which it never claimed to be. Right.
THE PAST.
In the course of resting my bones and cradling my beleaguered gall bladder, I missed writing about some truly incredible bills.
My Heart Burns For THE ARCADE FIRE:
Sometimes my musical pickiness gets the best of me, and I end up passing on some fantastic finds. The Arcade Fire was, I’m ashamed to say, one of these misplaced loves. I first heard Arcade Fire back last summer in the form of their song “Old Flame”. And, frankly, I wasn’t impressed. It was good, but I didn’t feel it warranted this crazy hype the band was getting. It’s embarrassing to admit this now, it’s so fucking hipster of me to snub my nose at something because it was getting hype. What happened to the good days when we would hear hyped bands and go, you know, if that many people like it, it can’t be all that bad! Whatever the case, it took merely one listen to the “Neighborhood”’s and I was smitten. Hardcore smitten. We’re talking listening to #1 for breakfast, #3 for lunch, and #4 for bedtime. In between, on a daily basis, were the two standouts (in my humble opinion) of Funeral, “Wake Up” and “Rebellion (Lies)”. The seldom occasions when I felt abuzz with love for the world, the tropical loveliness of “Haiti” flew from my speakers. All of the songs stir something in me, something deeply emotional and impressionable. What is this force, this Arcade Fire phenomenon? Mere musical analysis can’t describe it, because we’d have to go through the interactions of the violins with the accordions with the motorcycle helmets, etc., etc., etc. No, what makes the Arcade Fire impact this many lives is simple: heart. The band has enough heart to carry on despite life’s circumstances. And it shows in their songs; each one bleeds and breathes, laughs, cries and loves, all with equal fervency. We haven’t had fervent music in a long, long time. None of this “We Are the World” shit, we’re talking serious emotion. The arrival of musical phenomena like the Arcade Fire and, for starters, Bright Eyes (which is a whole other story), reflects the reach and power of truth in music. In an age of technology where music hooks are made by machines and even guitars are made to sound like keyboards, it’s all the more powerful to hear organic music coming from the heart. The Arcade Fire are the evangelists of homemade music. And I, for one, was lost but now am found.
Six Months Later: The Pitchfork Interview
Jaw-Dropping Live Footage From Turnpike
The Transformative Power of CHIN UP CHIN UP:
The album title (We Should Have Never Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers) suggests ambition, remorse and soaring imagination. Inside, tracks like “Virginia Don’t Drown” and the title track deliver on these premonitions with gusto. CUCU manage to take a relatively staid rock formula (2 contrasting guitar lines, a la Strokes formula) and coke it up with some blitzkrieg drum lines, warped vocals, and strikingly mellow keyboards. The results are nothing short of monumental. I haven’t been this entranced with an “instrumental”-heavy band since Other Passengers (Seen Here at Gothamist). And like the former, I believe that in about a year’s time, Chin Up Chin Up will be headlining bills and inciting a mass following.
Chin Up Chin Up: Virginia Don’t Drown
We Should Never Have Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers, from album of same name
The Name That Says It All: CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH:
Paul Banks is asexual. Not that way ladies, your darling icicle of mood rock is safe. But I’ll be damned if the man doesn’t regenerate every five minutes and bud off a new Banks altogether. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah has a lead singer that could give Banks a run for his money. The difference between Paul Banks and CYHSY’s man is that the latter carries a tune well into the upper whiny registers. Which happens, strangely enough, to be a good thing. The vocals are cold and sharp, even when deep in the bass registers, which perfectly compliments the band’s use of gentle melodies and dissonant strumming guitars. The group harkens back to the likes of the Psychedelic Furs (particularly “Lost And Found”) and the Talking Heads (mainly vocals). But most importantly, the band maneuvers from pop to rock to mellow acoustics with deft talent. A certain contender for a big break out.
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: “Tidal Wave”
Details Of The War
Lost And Found
Home On Ice
The HARLEM (SHAKES) Renaissance:
I don’t think it’s overly dramatic to say that The Harlem Shakes are, indeed, the future of New York City music. They were the first act I ever saw in New York, and in my eyes, they have remained one of the most dynamic live forces out here. Their music brims with energy and youthful bravado. Every bass line and every high-hat is perfectly aligned yet menacingly on the edge of breaking down into garage chaos. Plus, there’s the issue of charisma. I don’t think a line-up that contains the likes of Jose (the hip hip-shaking bass player), Brent (the oh-so-cool timekeeper), Kendrick (the Jesse James rebel on keys), or Ian (the smooth-talking NYU guitar phenom) can rightly fear any lack of female fan base. But just in case all four have an off night, The Shakes can always rely on their in-house Sinatra, Mr. Lexy Benaim, a man who has been known to favor both tight blazers and sonorous pleas for love. The Voice handles The Harlem Shakes like a true pro, leading their momentum throughout their shows and bringing down the house with his sweet-sounding beltings. The Harlem Shakes, my friends, have got it all. And they’re finally starting to break out. So watch out for the LP and keep going to the shows. The Harlem Shakes will remake the New York scene once again.
The Shakes Exposed in Gothamist
Website
Don’t Change That Channel, It’s HUMAN TELEVISION:
HT recently shared a bill with The Harlem Shakes AND Other Passengers. So we know starting off that they can’t be that bad. Turns out, that hunch is correct. Human Television remind me of all the things I used to love about pop music, a genre that has been hit hard since the turn of the century. “Saw You Walking By” is snappy and blushingly sincere in a corresponding world of…well, morose Paul Bankses, to beat an example to death. It’s all here in a neat 2’30” package: hummable melodies, frolicking drums, and crisp guitar lines. All in all, Human Television are proof yet again that bad band names can happen to really awesome bands. Check ‘em out despite the blah title.
Saw You Walking By
Tell Me What You Want Video
Come Into The RAZORLIGHT:
Never a country to quit when they’re ahead, England is continuing to pump out great rock stock. The latest group to wash ashore is the cocky Cockneys of Razorlight. The band boasts the closest challenge to Carl Barat yet in 22-year-old Johnny, a vocalist who oozes confidence into each syllable, yet is still able to flex the chords for some true blue crooning. The rest of the lads simply rock it hard for the enjoyment of many. “Rock N’ Roll Lies” is the obvious stand-out track off of Up All Night. Persistent two-chord slides hammer out against thunderous drums and malcontented, Joe Strummer-quality vocals. “Rip It Up” is self-explanatory, but is noteworthy for the cheery guitar lines that would sound right at home with Rooney or Phantom Planet. The whole album serves as a coherent but diverse example of Razorlight’s talent, and no one can safely judge the band based on just one song. The new Libertines? Only time will tell. For now, be there with them or be square.
Rip It Up Video
Rock N’ Roll Lies Video
News Flashes:
The Unicorns Break Up….For Real This Time?
Had Enough Paul Banks References? Nah, Me Neither. Tour Updates From Interpol
A Night Out With The Kills
Roll Out The Money For:
Secret Machines play Irving Plaza w/ Moving Units 3/5.
VHS Or Beta/Ambulance LTD/Robbers On High Street @ Bowery Ballroom. 3/7.
Death From Above 1979 @ Bowery 3/10.
Fiery Furnaces @ Bowery 4/9.
Put On The Reading Spectacles For:
Deli Magazine
Underrated Magazine
Still To Come:
The future beckons: Reviews of bands that will be drawing the crowds come this summer. Including Walking Concert, Death of Fashion, Hanalei, and Phantom Limbs.
Rock Photo:
The Clash perform in the U.S. circa 1980s. Taken by Neal Preston for CORBIS.
Lovely/Is the feeling now-S.
