Sunday, January 31, 2010

The most beautiful song on my playlist? "Wild Horses"

Choice #4: Yes, I had this song in mind when I found the horrible blog background you see here at Pop Rocks.

I love The Sundays. Harriet Wheeler's voice is like fine china. Reading, Writing, Arithmetic and Blind were part of the aural fabric of my undergraduate years at Texas A&M.

Kyle and I used to sing this song (a Rolling Stones cover) together. He loved to play it; I loved to sing it. Hmmm. I wouldn't say I feel *sad* listening to this song, but definitely nostalgic for rainy afternoons spent with a guitar, take-out pizza, apples and him.

The most beautiful song on my playlist? "Death and all his Friends"

The thing I love about Coldplay's Viva La Vida is that it's a genuine album. The songs work together thematically and musically. For example, the first tune is "Life in Technicolor", and then the last tune is this one ... from life to death in 10 tracks. This song - "Death and all his Friends" - employs one of the musical motifs of "Life in Technicolor" too, so the record really pulls off a full circle feeling. Coldplay receives plenty of hating from hipsters, but they have nothing to be embarrassed of. In addition to writing super swell catchy pop songs that everyone and their uncles can enjoy, they also aimed high with this record and created something amazing. It's a cohesive piece of brilliance (the producer gets high marks!), and I spent the summer of 2008 listening to the record from start to finish.

Oh how I love this part of the song, my Choice #3:
I don't want to battle from beginning to end
I don't want to cycle, recycle revenge
I don't want to follow death and all of his friends.

The most beautiful song on my playlist? "Challengers"

First of all, I have to apologize for the name of this band. Usually I refer to them as the NPs. But I can't hide the group name from y'all. You're going to see it spelled out on the clip of this (tragically weird) video.

I've gone back and forth more than once about liking this group in spite of the name, and yes, I know that makes me sound like a hypocritical prude. From my basic wiki-research, I learned that this band took its name from a Jimmy Swaggart quote about rock & roll music being the "new pornography". Well, I didn't like the old pornography, so I think the name allusion tanks.

But that aside, this group soars. The NPs are one of my favorite groups. The sometime lead vocalist, Neko Case, has a voice as beautiful as her long red hair. Her voice is knowing and wise. I love the part in this song when she sings, "I live with somebody too." She knows.

Choice #2: "Challengers"

The most beautiful song on my playlist? "re: Stacks"

Hard to pick just one ...  so I'll provide several choices.

Choice #1: "re: Stacks" by Bon Iver.

I've already posted about it on my other blog, but Pop Rocks wouldn't be complete without some Bon Iver.  A gentle man. A gentle song. It's the #2 most frequently played song on my laptop. This song is sympathetic and comforting. If I need to cry, it works. If I'm done crying, it works. It's atmospheric and beautifully layered. It's poignant and delicate. Beautifully delicate and delicately beautiful.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

It's dark in herrre

So, here's the deal: Spoon doesn't do slow songs. Their songs are driving, rhythmic, percussive, hopping, snappy, edgy, momentous. But no ballads.

"Metal Detektor" from A Series of Sneaks is about as close as it gets. "Me and the Bean" from Girls Can Tell has a soaring chorus. We take those wisps of balladry, and hold them closer than if we were Josh Groban fans who were spoon-fed (hey, a pun?!?!) on high notes.

Transference is a hard-edged album. "Got Nuffin'" and "Is Love Forever?" and "Trouble Come Running" just race by, for example. Britt Daniel said in one interview that Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga was an album about breaking up and breaking down, but Transference is about getting back up. It's a getting back out there album. It's got an edge in its step.

And yet ... it has two *slow* songs, including "Goodnight Laura", and one of them - this one - is among the most beautiful love songs I've ever heard. Not because "Out Go the Lights" is padded with vibrato, harmony or ornamentation, but because Mr. Daniel seems to lay his heart bare in this song. His devoted fans know that an early and important girlfriend hailed from Chicago. She shows up in early songs. Chicago does too. Every album post Telephono has a Chicago reference.

This song brings her back: "You were the one two punch from Illinois."

Parachute - two treacly confections

These tunes fall squarely into the Pre-fab pop category. iTunes gave away Parachute's "Under Control" this summer, and the three of us enjoyed it back in June. It carries with it even now the scent of sunscreen and Corn Nuts. These boys have very little depth, but lots of sugar coating. I smiled all the way through "She is Love" - that kid knows nothing of heartbreak, yet, but it's still sticky-sweet.


Seeing it, the light (reprint)

I'm sorry for the handful of folks who follow my blog AND check in with me on FB because I'm doing some overlap with all this Spoon-a-bration. Each avenue/medium of communication has its advantages; even so, I'm duplicating a bit. I already posted a video of this song on FB (mostly so that I could then play the song whenever I wanted to), but didn't really want to add the lyrics on my wall. Here on the blog, I can provide the lyrics and the song.

When I look at the lyrics typed out below, I am not exactly blown away. Strange how they seem SO insightful when the music is playing. It's the alchemy between music, lyric and attitude that provides the oomph. I am gripped by the way Mr. Daniel sings the second verse in particular (I've added bolding for emphasis below). He sings  this song the way he moves on stage - herky jerky, a bit stiff and totally consumed by the beat. 

So, yes, I like me this rock-n-roll. Two funny rock-n-roll related moments from school this week:

#1 - all of my classes are in different rooms, so I end up crossing paths with five - ten other teachers on a regular basis. On Monday, I was visiting a bit with the woman who teaches in A116 the hour before my class. I mentioned that I saw a show in Austin over the weekend. "Oh, you're one of us," she said with a smile. Then as she waltzed out of the room, she turned to me with a wink and yelled out, "Party on, Wayne!"

Hmm. Can you say, "Reference completely falling flat"?

I didn't quite see myself in that early 1990s vein, "Cora." Like to think I'm a bit more in the moment ...

#2 - in one of my intro to lit classes, I was teaching them the difference between the subject of a work and its tone. I asked people to list favorite love songs so that we could compare tones - the attitude of the song toward the subject. This is one of my foolproof brainstorming activities, use it every semester, it always works, etc. But this class was strangely quiet. Maybe they were tired. One kindly student said, "Ms. Hill, why don't you tell us your favorite  songs and then we can tell you if you are cool or not."

I just stared at her, smiling silently.

"Oh, I'm not worried about that," I said slowly, a smile spreading. "If anything, I'm just concerned that if I tell you what I listen to, you guys will be so blown away by the sheer coolness of my music that no one will share any song titles because they'll feel so impressed."

Hearty laughter. But I wasn't joking. "Party on, Wayne!" (Disclosure - if I taught somewhere other than Blinn, I wouldn't be so confident that I had the best musical taste in the room. But the overwhelmingly most popular genre on our campus is Texas country. Hands down, it's what they love the most. And more power to 'em! If they like it, then it's done its job. But I also know that I have, um, more wide-ranging tastes than most of my students. If you transplanted me to another college campus, I wouldn't be so sure.)

"Seriously, Ms. Hill! What do you like?" another young woman asked.

"I like a band called Spoon," I said, scanning the room for flashes of recognition.

"Who?" asked 25 students in unison.

"Only the best rock-n-roll band ever to emerge from Austin, Texas," I told them. "They just released a new album. Prepare to have the course of your life permanently changed." Then I turned back to the board to continue teaching tone.

I'm sorry for the handful of folks who follow my blog AND check in with me on FB because I'm doing some overlap with all this Spoon-a-bration. Each avenue/medium of communication has its advantages; even so, I'm duplicating a bit. I already posted a video of this song on FB (mostly so that I could then play the song whenever I wanted to), but didn't really want to add the lyrics on my wall. Here on the blog, I can provide the lyrics and the song.

When I look at the lyrics typed out below, I am not exactly blown away. Strange how they seem SO insightful when the music is playing. It's the alchemy between music, lyric and attitude that provides the oomph. I am gripped by the way Mr. Daniel sings the second verse in particular (I've added bolding for emphasis below). He sings  this song the way he moves on stage - herky jerky, a bit stiff and totally consumed by the beat. 

So, yes, I like me this rock-n-roll. Two funny rock-n-roll related moments from school this week:

#1 - all of my classes are in different rooms, so I end up crossing paths with five - ten other teachers on a regular basis. On Monday, I was visiting a bit with the woman who teaches in A116 the hour before my class. I mentioned that I saw a show in Austin over the weekend. "Oh, you're one of us," she said with a smile. Then as she waltzed out of the room, she turned to me with a wink and yelled out, "Party on, Wayne!"

Hmm. Can you say, "Reference completely falling flat"?

I didn't quite see myself in that early 1990s vein, "Cora." Like to think I'm a bit more in the moment ...

#2 - in one of my intro to lit classes, I was teaching them the difference between the subject of a work and its tone. I asked people to list favorite love songs so that we could compare tones - the attitude of the song toward the subject. This is one of my foolproof brainstorming activities, use it every semester, it always works, etc. But this class was strangely quiet. Maybe they were tired. One kindly student said, "Ms. Hill, why don't you tell us your favorite  songs and then we can tell you if you are cool or not."

I just stared at her, smiling silently.

"Oh, I'm not worried about that," I said slowly, a smile spreading. "If anything, I'm just concerned that if I tell you what I listen to, you guys will be so blown away by the sheer coolness of my music that no one will share any song titles because they'll feel so impressed."

Hearty laughter. But I wasn't joking. "Party on, Wayne!" (Disclosure - if I taught somewhere other than Blinn, I wouldn't be so confident that I had the best musical taste in the room. But the overwhelmingly most popular genre on our campus is Texas country. Hands down, it's what they love the most. And more power to 'em! If they like it, then it's done its job. But I also know that I have, um, more wide-ranging tastes than most of my students. If you transplanted me to another college campus, I wouldn't be so sure.)

"Seriously, Ms. Hill! What do you like?" another young woman asked.

"I like a band called Spoon," I said, scanning the room for flashes of recognition.

"Who?" asked 25 students in unison.

"Only the best rock-n-roll band ever to emerge from Austin, Texas," I told them. "They just released a new album. Prepare to have the course of your life permanently changed." Then I turned back to the board to continue teaching tone.
Whenever your love can find me
They break through the walls, to find me
It's breaking the walls to find me

I go out in the world
I make my case to the world
I saw the world and to the world
It asked me back again
It calls me love, holds me tight 

Do do da do da . . .

It peels off the ties that bind me
Ah oh.... I don't need a thing to remind me
That I'm part of the world.

I saw the light
I saw the light and I felt jeaned all in white
I felt so permanently in love
I saw the light
I saw the light and I felt all creamed all in white
I felt so permanently loved

I saw the light
I saw the light
I saw the light and i felt all creamed in white
I feel so permanently loved

Friday, January 29, 2010

From the ashes (reprint)

Phoenix. Great French band. Thomas Mars is the lead singer. He's the guy Sofia Coppola married (?) after she was married to Spike Jonze. Just a little tidbit. They sing in English, but hey, either way. I'd like it in French too. I'd probably like it even more. I love French. I love speaking French. I wish I could remember more than 10 words of my college vocabulary. J'aime la guitare electrique. J'ai entendu un groupe formidable!

My kids love this album: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. This song - a tribute to Paris - is called "1901."

And yes, I'll give the clips a rest next week.

I have a theory about all this music listening and posting, besides the obvious reason that my FAVORITE band released its 7th album after MONTHS of build-up and excitement. I mean, that only happens once every couple of years.

My theory is that I'm using music as a healthy eating tool. Unintentionally, actually. I've been working hard to avoid emotional eating, and can you believe it? I've actually made some progress over the last couple of months. I've learned to say no to certain snacks and treats. I'm moving in the right direction. This may be the first year when my default resolution to get fit actually has some teeth.

You know how diet books always recommend substitutes, like gum or sugar free soda?
I think I've substituted emotional listening for the kind of mindless snacking I might have turned to a year ago! I'm using song after song after song to help me get through the day, to energize me or to calm me down or relax or pump up or whatever. Perhaps that's a diet book I could write: Losing Weight the iTunes Way!