Liars Liars Liars

We here at the Hall of Owls love Liars. Drum's Not Dead appeared on many of 2006's best of lists, yet the band was already recording their next record. There was much speculation about their musical direction after something as cohesive as Drum, but when a recent article on Pitchfork used phrases like "guitar solos" and "Neil Young," many fans were left scratching their heads.

After hearing a few of the songs from their upcoming eponymous release, it appears that they did indeed write a rock record, but it still sounds like Liars. It just has more, you know, riffs.

Liars -- "Sailing to Byzantium" from Liars
Liars -- "Clear Island" from Liars

Throat Bordello. Signed, Thor

There was a period a few years ago when I took to collecting spam e-mails. Not all spam e-mails, mind you, but ones of a certain type. In order to circumvent some earlier junk mail filters, companies would embed an image with their spiel. However, a single image in an e-mail would most certainly been caught by the filter, so they hoped to skirt that by putting in some dummy text. Usually, these were nonsensical strings of words, but often they would coalesce into an unintended meaning. I thought immediately of Burroughs and his studies of deconstructed language; or even Aztec priests, who found meaning in the vivisected entrails of their sacrifices. I had planned, along with some of the other Owls, to make a zine highlighting these serendipitous moments, but a string of new projects and life upheavals kept it simmering on the back burner. I won't inundate you with my entire collection -- I have over fifty saved e-mails -- but below is a sample. The first two are mangled text from Dickens' David Copperfield:

» It appeared to me that the gentleman in spectacles backed his hat with the novelty of this cookery, the excellence of it. He was quite loquacious; giving me to understand, among other pieces.

» Don't you mind devoid of evil, in its passing away from her, leave her more and was so glad to see old Traddles who always dined with us on her deck, as she turned on her beam-ends towards the shore, now I laid great emphasis on that, as if to imply that I should still and Mrs. Crupp, who was busy making tea.

» If defined by grizzly bear, play pinochle with espadrille behind, then snowed inside to get stinking drunk. Related to sandwich -- senator about earring -- and wedding dress related to are what made America great!

» Unlike so many alchemists who have made their molten pork chops...

» A few clodhoppers and tape recorders arrive at a state of freight train. Now and then, toward rattlesnake, ignore gonad pickup truck. Somnambulist about is linguistic. Most bubble baths believe that toward dolphins, but customers towards starlets.

Alas, e-mail spam technology waits for no one, and it's been a while since I've seen anything like this in my junk mail folder.

Unclassics

In 2004, Morgan Geist -- head of Environ records and one half of Metro Area -- organized a compilation of the best unheard synth and disco gems. The series began in single format. To quote the Stylus review of the record, "this is a collection of songs that haven’t been held to the scrutiny of canonization and therein sound refreshingly sweet." Endlessly playful and endlessly playable, the songs could melt even the coldest of hearts. Perfect for cocktails with friends or when the refrigerator needs a particularly good scrubbing. I'm only going to post two songs from this, as this record is still in print and is worth your money.

Victor -- Go On Do It (Radio Edit)
Purple Flash -- We Can Make It

Musique Concrète

Like much experimental music, musique concrète falls victim to compartmentalizing and misunderstanding. Pioneered in the forties and fifties by Pierre Schaeffer -- a French composer whose work at the Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française gave him the time and facilities to experiment with manipulated tape -- musique concrète hoped to expand the palette of sounds available to a composer. The recorded medium allowed for non-musical phrases to be syncopated and altered in ways unforeseen by earlier composers. By this time, John Cage's 4'33" had appeared, which was similar in its deconstruction of traditional instrumentational and structural tropes, highlighting the dynamic ambient environments in which the pieces are recorded and performed. As Schaeffer's experiments became more well known, concrète passages began to appear in experimental compositions, most notably in Edgard Varèse's 1958 Poème Électronique, which was debuted in 1958 at a performance utilizing 425 (!) arranged loudspeakers. The piece is abstract and loose, full of church bells, crashes and unidentified whines. And the Flaming Lips get all the credit.

It's impossible to understate the importance of Schaeffer's work. In the sixties and seventies, artists like Pink Floyd and Frank Zappa utilized concrète in their studio work. By then, the genre was already a generation old, but was still regarded as revolutionary. From there, a straight line can be drawn through the evolution of modern analog and digital samplers. Terminator X of Public Enemy often employed concrète in his production. It Takes A Nation Millions To Hold Us Back opens with a wail of klaxons, and it's not uncommon to hear sampled helicopter and police sirens in hip-hop throughout the nineties.

Also posted is a song from Jean-Claude Vannier's L'Enfant Assassin des Mouches, the 1972 solo record by the Gainsbourg collaborator and arranger. While not straight concrète, it does incorporate recorded real-world samples in the song's second half, including creepy kids, ticking clocks, gunshots (?) and the crunching gravel of a man's gait.

Pierre Schaeffer -- Cinq Études de Bruit: Étude Violette
Edgard Varèse -- Poème Électronique
Jean-Claude Vannier -- Les Gardes Volent Au Secours Du Roi

Liars BBC Session

Liars are a scary band. Their lyrics are always vaguely menacing, sometimes overtly so. The band is always threatening the listener or issuing such bold declaratives as being "the army you see through the red haze of blood." However, it's the production that cuts through their (sometimes silly) lyrics and really instills a sense of terror and unease. Drums are regularly run through effects processors, and the guitars do their best to emulate the creaky doors and humming pipes of a haunted house. Last year's Drum's Not Dead was a nightmarescape, a soundtrack of majestic and Byronic proportions.

Today's post focuses on their BBC appearance on December 5, 2004, where they played three songs from that year's They Were Wrong, So We Drowned and an unreleased track. That record earned them a single-star rating in Rolling Stone, who said "making a record about fear is one thing; making a record you fear listening to is quite another." I think they got it exactly right, but not in the desultory way in which it was intended.

Liars -- There's Always Room on the Broom (BBC)
Liars -- If You're A Wizard Then Why Do You Wear Glasses (BBC)
Liars -- We Fence Other Gardens with the Bones of Our Own (BBC)
Liars -- Bugman Needs a Hugman (BBC)

Person Pitched

Panda Bear's recent record Person Pitch has earned rave reviews around the country. In an interview (which I can't find), he talked about approaching the record in the way that a DJ would approach a live set. When he moved to Lisbon he left most of his Animal Collective instruments in the states, taking only two BOSS Dr. Sample 303s, and thus all of Person Pitch is sample-based. The AC message board has been trying to determine what samples were used.

Many of the songs are based on loops from Joe Meek-produced Tornados songs. Two are listed below: "Red Roses and a Sky of Blue" contains the main riff from "Bros," and the opening of "Popeye Twist" is the basis for the second half of "Take Pills." "Red Roses and a Sky of Blue"'s opening riff was also used in the song "What I Do" from Animal Collective's 2005 BBC appearance. The loop from "Red Roses" is a personal favorite. All in all, the Tornados were a pretty average band, but Noah found these two strange transitional measures where the guitars chimed and intonated. It's a small bit of awesome in a pretty okay song. The first half of the aforementioned "Take Pills" comes from Scott Walker's "Always Coming Back to You". Elsewhere, a portion from a Cat Stevens song serves as the main driving guitar part in the second half of "Bros." There has been debate over whether the main theme of "Comfy in Nautica" was taken from the Akira soundtrack, though the choral hits used in the film don't match up entirely.

Finally, the ending of "Carrots" is taken from Kraftwerk's "Ananas Symphony" from their 1973 album Ralf und Florian, which is notable in their ouvre for being the first appearance of a vocoder. The sample begins at :29 and continues for fifteen or so seconds. Obviously, there are a number of unidentified samples.

Much props to the folks at rerz.net for their tireless research.

Tornados -- Red Roses and a Sky of Blue
Animal Collective -- What I Do (BBC)
Scott Walker -- Always Coming Back to You
Cat Stevens -- I Found A Love
Tornados -- Popeye Twist
Kraftwerk -- Ananas Symphony

Grand Ulena

My girlfriend and I are driving to St. Louis later this afternoon. It'll be the first time I've visited in close to a year. The days before a trip always get me sentimental, and I started to think about the musical influence that living in St. Louis had on me.

It seems like an odd location to serve as a hub for Midwestern experimental music, but it is. Skin Graft Records started in St. Louis, moved to Chicago, and has since returned. Their early catalog is expansive and impressive: The Flying Luttenbachers, Dazzling Killmen, U.S. Maple, You Fantastic!, etc. and is largely responsible for people not wanting to ride in my car with the stereo on from 2001 - 2004. Many of the bands have roots in St. Louis but took residence in Chicago. This is typical of many St. Louis bands, who move to Chi-town and erase the Lou from their bios (90 Day Men, I'm looking at you).

However, there is one band that has not only steadfastly planted its roots in St. Louis, but celebrates the city in its songs and titles: Grand Ulena. The trio, made up of Darin Gray (ex-Killman, and often the bass player Jim O'Rourke calls for album work), guitarist Chris Trull and drummer Danny McClain, have released one album, an ep, and a split 7" with Sicbay. They played their first show with Wilco (!) at the Pageant in St. Louis in October of 2001. The crowd, many of whom have been Wilco fans since AM, were very gracious toward Grand Ulena for a good ten or fifteen minutes. This was due in part to Jeff Tweedy introducing them as "the best band you'll ever, ever see." When it became clear that, yes, this was their set, and they weren't just dicking around before starting a more traditional rock song, the crowd began to turn. First came the restlessness, then shouting and catcalls. The band remained unfazed. I was sold.

Below are three songs, two from their debut album Gateway to Dignity and the title-track from their EP. As is typical of the band, one of the album tracks is named after a St. Louis street, the other a reference to a town on the Kansas/Missouri border, and the EP is named after a town south of Kansas City near Joplin, Missouri. Their songs are polyphonic, polyrhythmic, polyeverything.

Grand Ulena -- Gravois Means Rubble
Grand Ulena -- Total Joplin
Grand Ulena -- Neosho

In a Minute

Einstein has a well-known quote (that they tried to pass as LL Cool J dialogue in Deep Blue Sea), in which he compares the relative length of a minute when your hand is on a hot stove versus time spent with a cute girl. That dichotomy, of a minute's simultaneous length and brevity, is the subject of two of the three songs posted today. The first, the opening track from the Silver Jews' Starlite Walker record, is a duet between Steve and David, both imploring us to "come in [their] kitchen" to sit with them and spend some time together. Wistful and laconic, they sing that they "never want this minute to end / And then it ends." The song acknowledges that, yes, time is fleeting, but also dense and compendious.

Conversely, the third song (another by Carla Bruni) focuses more on the "soixante petites secondes pour ma dernière minute" -- the last minute of someone's life. It's more urgent than the slow pace of the Silver Jews, who are clearly in no hurry and have the time to contemplate life, rather than the desperate rush to find meaning, validation -- something! -- as the last moment ticks away.

Sandwiched between those songs is a short ditty from Godard's Pierrot Le Fou. Entitled "Twist Pour Jean-Luc," it's one of many compositions he recorded for Pierrot Le Fou and Le Weekend. It's a fun song, and hey, it's just a minute.

Silver Jews -- Introduction II
Antoine Duhamel -- Twist Pour Jean-Luc
Carla Bruni - La Derniere Minute

The Shadowy Version #2

This is the second installment of "The Shadowy Version," a regular column featuring the covers of Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet and the original versions. I had planned to feature one of my favorite SMOASP covers, but WFMU took the wind out of my sails with this post, which features not one, not two, but seventy-nine versions of the song "Popcorn." Still, I was pleased to see that my library contains a version not found on their list, which empowered me to persevere. The original, along with a German language version (though I could have asked my girlfriend for a translation, even someone with a cursory knowledge of German should be able to glean the subtleties from a line like "Popcorn ist es gut.") is posted below.

Also included is a cover of Gene Pitney's Eastern-tinged "Mecca," a simple pop song with a wonderful arrangement and ballsy lyrics comparing his girl's house to the holiest of Moslem shrines. It's doubtful someone could write a song like that these days without a load of socio-political baggage attached. I'd like to think there's a missing verse comparing her room to the Masjid al-Haram, but I realize that's wishful thinking. The Shadowy version is a rollicking, upbeat affair. I love Brian's solo in here, subtly changing from the staccato picking of the verse to fuller, more sustained notes. Though his guitar work in Shadowy Men is almost completely un-effected, small nuances in his playing allow for clear delineation of sections.

Hot Butter -- Popcorn
Antoine -- Popcorn (German Language Version)
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet -- Popcorn

Gene Pitney -- Mecca
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet -- 13 (Mecca)

Ex-Models

Crossover artists are bound to run into some skepticism. I needn't mention all of the celebrity bands who never got the chance to be taken seriously. Granted, most of them are pretty mediocre, but they should at least be able to prove their cruddiness on their own merits. It's difficult to keep a straight face when you hear of a professional athlete or, oh Lordy, a supermodel announce their intentions to make a record. What's more surprising is the fact that some of these songs are pretty good, that Shaq record exempted, of course. Twiggy quit modeling at an early age to concentrate on acting and music. Ignoring some singles she cut when she was younger, her eponymous debut came out in 1976. It featured the production of Doobie Brother John McFee and the songwriting skills of Doobie Michael McDonald and, uh, Kenny Loggins.

Carla Bruni -- who recently put out an English-language record -- was an Italian supermodel who quit the biz at the age of thirty to concentrate on her chanson career. Though a few eyes rolled, her debut album Quelqu'un m'a dit proved her as a mature and sophisticated songwriter.

Also included is a song by the band Ex Models because they're great.

Twiggy -- Here I Go Again
Carla Bruni -- Le Ciel Dans Une Chambre
Ex Models -- Pink Noise

The Shadowy Version #1

This is the first in a series of posts chronicling the extensive collection of covers from the mighty Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet. Steve Albini said they were the only band he'd be willing to record for free. SMoaSP has always been a favorite around the Hall of Owls. Our last road trip to St. Louis started with the most democratic of ideas: everyone gets one cd to play in the car, and then the next person chooses a cd and so on. By the second day we had all decided to listen to Sport Fishin': The Lure of the Bait, the Luck of the Hook for the remainder of the trip. Like most folks, our familiarity with the band began with Kids in the Hall, though it quickly developed into something far more deep-rooted. The Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet were always relevent, whether it was the first nice day of spring in 1997 or during a late-night drive in 2004. Their cover songs were often standards, but were made new when suffused with the light-hearted mischief that characterized their sound.

We'll begin with two songs from the second side of Savvy Show Stoppers. "Summer Wind," written in 1965 by Henry Mayer and Johnny Mercer, is a crooner standard. The Shadowy version is arranged simply: two guitars, one lead, one rhythm; Reid's sharp, bouncy bass; and a simple brush beat. It's straightforward and unpretentious. "Misty," a piano jazz standard from 1954 and the subject of an early Clint Eastwood-helmed film, has been covered by hundreds of musicians. The Shadowy version has the light touch and sweet romance of a high school prom.

Johnny Mercer -- Summer Wind
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet -- Summer Wind
Erroll Garner -- Misty
Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet -- Misty

Chantal Goya

Despite an auspicious start in Godard's Masculin-Feminin, Chantal Goya's legacy is closer to Raffi than Jean Seberg. Originally a ye-ye girl -- much like the one she played in Godard's film -- she released pop records and appeared in movies until 1975. Then, along with her husband and writing parter Jean-Jacques Debout, built a successful career performing songs for children, complete with elaborate stage design, costume and animation. Her ubiquity was enough to warrant a line of toys, and a ton of records, including numerous crossovers with the likes of Mickey Mouse, Tintin and Babar.

One thing that's endeared her so much to me is the plainness of her voice. She lacked the bratty delivery of France Gall or the throaty sexuality of Francoise Hardy. Instead, she sounds very small in her songs, due in part to the songs' production and in part to the timidity of her singing. There are parts in "Ce Soir On Danse" (a harrowing tale of setting up a dance party) where she is clearly off-key and is shouldered through the end of the bridge by the backup singers. Still, I find this charming and a bit sexy (lord knows my history with quiet, awkward girls).

Still, there's something undeniably appealing about these songs. The opening drumbeat on "Tu M'as Trop Menti" sounds years ahead of its time. She may have been one in a long line of Gainsbourg's chanteuses, but managed to transcend the propped-up, Tammy-style theatrics that were often the result.

Chantal Goya -- Ce Soir On Danse
Chantal Goya -- Lasse-Moi
Chantal Goya -- Tu M'as Trop Menti
Chantal Goya -- Une Echarpe, Une Rose

and one from her current repertoire

Chantal Goya -- Ce Matin un Lapin