[Ed. - Howard Bilerman is a gracious human being, a skilled musician, and an exceptional producer - most notably as he helps to run Montreal's famed Hotel 2 Tango studio. He has recorded/mixed albums by bands including Godspeed! You Black Emperor, Wolf Parade, The Dears, Tricky Woo, A Silver Mt. Zion, Elizabeth Anka Vajagic, Jordi Rosen & Rufus Wainwright, and the Arcade Fire. The Peter Laughner track he's picked is absolutely amazing. And stay tuned for a live version of "Notorious Lightning," from another guestblogger, later this week.]
I confess, for someone who has recorded over 150 records in the last decade, I don't listen to much "modern" music. Most of the popular stuff I hear these days references something else out there in a way that makes it far too derivative to enjoy. Maybe I'm just getting old... or maybe I simply expect more from music than I used too. In any case, I have become a big stickler for good lyrics as of late, and I think a good deal of lyricists are lazy & aren't saying all that much.
Bob Dylan - "One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)". I'll start with something "old". I do believe that Bob Dylan's Blonde on Blonde is as close to a perfect record as there is out there. That stretch of songs starting with "Visions of Johanna", followed by "sooner or later one of us must know", followed by "I Want You" & then "stuck inside of mobile with the memphis blues again" is flawless. Each of those songs makes me wonder how in the world someone wrote something so perfect... let alone a whole double-album's worth (minus "rainy day women #12 & #35," which I'm afraid is the weakest lead off track to ever grace a masterpiece). It's a coin-toss…but here's "sooner or later one of us must know"... just for that perfect triplet drum fill in the chorus... and his spine-tingling phrasing at 2:23... "how young you werrrrrrrrreeeehhhrrrrrrr". Dylan is the tree that grew branches like elvis costello, beck & bright eyes... but for my money, no-one has yet to surpass him. [buy]
Destroyer - "Notorious Lightning". I have yet to listen to all of Destroyer's Your Blues... mostly 'cause I keep on needing to go back to the top and listen to "notorious lightning" again & again. I know some people have trouble with this record ‘cause of all the midi'd instruments, but I think it's fantastic. Bejar blends real guitars with mostly synthesized music, and manages to make it sounds organic. This song is an amazing journey, and to me it's lyrical perfection. Many reviewers have compared him to bowie, and I can see why, but I'm gonna go out on a limb and say this song is miles better than anything bowie has done in the last 25 years. [buy]
Peter Laughner - "Amphetamine". I don't know much about Peter Laughner. I believe he was in Rocket From The Tombs, and I know that he died pretty young. When I was living in new york 9 years ago I saw Gerard from matador records perform this song at an "all covers" evening. I remember asking him who wrote it, and it took me 7 years to find the original. Most of the record was pretty standard 2nd generation Dylan-y stuff, but "Amphetamine" alluded to the kind of genius he would have achieved were he to stick along long enough. [buy]
The Jesus & Mary Chain - "The Hardest Walk. I discovered The Jesus & Mary Chain's Psychocandy in one of the best summers for music in my lifetime. Companied with Costello's Blood & Chocolate & The Smiths' The Queen is Dead, it was one hell of a year for new music. Hearing "the hardest walk" on late night radio (CHOM FM would you believe?!) gave me goose-bumps. I didn't know what it was all about (I still don't), but something in my 16 year old brain told me it was sexual, and that I'd never heard anything quite like it. I despise My Bloody Valentine's Loveless primarily because it is a soul-less, low-rent, overly produced rip-off of something that the jesus & mary chain crafted years before. This record still gives me chills. [buy]
[Ed. - Monica is a kind and lovely friend who lives in Montreal. Her cat is called Dartburo.]
In attempting to write something heartfelt and filled with gratitude for today's post, i ran out of time and decided not to even try to measure up to sean's eloquent and beautifully descriptive posts. [Ed. - Don't thank me, lady! You're the one who's doing the favour. As this posts, I'm doubtless lounging about the Laurentians, reading Oscar and Lucinda.]
So here are the three big choices for my 15 minutes of fame:
Pinback - "Syracuse". In general, I have found that Pinback has been somewhat of a hit-and-miss band for me, and Sean has made it known that he is not a fan of their as of yet unreleased album, Blameless in Abandon. This song, I feel, is the most danceable of the dance tunes on the album and can and should be listened to only while dancing.
Corwin Fox - "Stone in your Shoe". Corwin Fox is the older brother of an old highschool friend of mine whose name happens to be Terry Fox (no relation to everyone's hero). [Ed. - non Canadians see here] The simplicity of the chorus initially turned me off, but listening to the rest of the words, i began to feel the intricacy and delicacy of this sad love song (my favourite kind). "Feeling alone is like having a stone in your shoe"; ain't that the truth. [buy]
Unknown - "Unknown". This lovely song came to me through a mix which unfortunately contained no track listing, and the maker having forgotten most of the band/song names he used. I have been working over many months to find the singer, who I think sounds a bit like Smog, but Sean assures me it is not. So please, if you know the maker of this, one of my favourite songs, please post the answer, and you will win the grand prize of [insert Grand prize here] and fame like you have never imagined. Enjoy.