Sure, there’s something to be said for pushing boundaries, constantly seeking out strange new sounds, and generally compiling the ephemera of the musical universe. But if there’s one thing any music fan with a taste for hooks knows, it’s that the folks at Pitchfork have a habit of often missing the forest for the trees. While the online indie-music kings at the site spend their days approaching music from a nigh-on scientific standpoint, some of the year’s best music can end up getting the shaft, simply because it isn’t weird or progressive enough. So, we weren’t all that surprised to see that a lot of our favorite albums of 2009 were omitted from Pitchfork’s top 10 albums of the year list. However, the fact that many of them not only also failed to appear in the site’s top 50, but even the honorable mentions, was a little too much to let slide.
Arrested Development (the TV show) had one of its best lines in mid-2004, when perennial alcoholic Lindsay Fünke made this offhand remark about fashion: “It’s the 21st century. We should be dressing like the ’80s.” It was ironic at the time, but now, at the tail end of 2009, after surviving an age that resurrected high-waisted jeans, we’ve come to realize she was dead right. Fashion wasn’t the only thing the first decade of the 21st century lifted wholesale from the ’80s.
Presented here are five blatant examples of bands who have begged, borrowed, or stolen from their ’80s predecessors. In the comments, let us know what ’90s sounds will see a revival in the next decade. We’re putting our money on grunge and Limp Bizkit-style nu metal.
Vic Chesnutt died on Christmas Day. And if he had to go so damn early, so damn cruelly, and so damn needlessly, there may have been no better day for him to do so. Dying while much of the world was celebrating the birth of a prophet could not have been more poetic. And Vic Chesnutt was sheer poetry.
Naturally, there’s nothing poetic about the facts behind Chesnutt’s death. A 45-year-old man at the height of his career, he was so in despair over ever-mounting medical bills that he opted for an overdose of prescription pills rather than face even one more day battling the healthcare industry. And despite the reported passing of some so-called reform, it’s unlikely he’d ever have been spared. Nor will many of the millions of others who face catastrophic illness, whether they have insurance or not.
Thanks to the internet, buying for that beloved music lover of yours can be next to impossible. Chances are your friend already knows about — and has the albums of — every current notable band worth listening to. That’s why, when stuck with the conundrum of what to get him or her, the solution comes in looking backwards. Many fans are so busy trying to keep up with the current trends that they forget to check out the fantastic acts of yore. We’ve rounded up ten recently released reissues, from Devo to Robert Wyatt, with suggestions for which of your music loving friends to give them to.
2009 has been such a fantastic year for music that it’s difficult to start thinking about 2010 so soon. How can we, when we still haven’t tired of milestone albums from the likes of Animal Collective, Atlas Sound, The Flaming Lips, and Dirty Projectors? Thankfully, next year is shaping up to be equally exciting, with new offerings on the horizon from Vampire Weekend, Yeasayer, Spoon and many more. After the jump, we pick the 12 albums we’re most excited for in 2010. Which records are you looking forward to?
At Coachella a few years back, the ever-feisty M.I.A. asked a packed house of sweat-soaked admirers, “Where my leaders at?!” Good question. Surprisingly few artists today have stepped up with the decisive political or spiritual message that M.I.A. was asking for.
Recently, 27-year-old Nigerian tour de force Nneka — who already has a loyal following in Africa and Europe — made her US debut at Joe’s Pub in NYC, which she followed with a few shows with the Roots. And while it’s still too early to compare her to political/musical messengers like countryman Fela Kuti or Bob Marley, she’s becoming a formidable figure in global music. She calmly rocked the room with her soul-filled voice, championing a strong message of love, unity and political justice from her forthcoming album Concrete Jungle.
As soon as the lights came up, I wanted an interview — even though I’ve only done three in the nine years since I co-founded Flavorpill. A few days later, I sat down with Nneka, a captivating figure who shared some lessons on music, life, spirituality, meditation, and love.
If you haven’t heard of indie darlings Cymbals Eat Guitars, you haven’t been paying attention. After getting the Pitchfork seal of approval with a best new music tag for its debut album, Why There Are Mountains, playing many hyped CMJ showcases, and going on a European jaunt that included opening for the Flaming Lips, the New York group has expanded well past the Big Apple.
But don’t worry if you feel like the party started without you. That’s how lead singer and songwriter Joe D’Agostino likes it. Case-in-point: listen to the chaos that ensues from the moment opener “And the Hazy Sea” kicks off — it seems like you’re entering into an album at the climax. Flavorpill talked to D’Agostino about the band’s recent tour and finding big, magical moments inside a song.
Asobi Seksu‘s woozy, sugar-sweet pop songs sound as if they were built with a microscope, their lushness a product of singer/keyboardist Yuki Chikudate and guitarist James Hanna’s extreme attention to detail. When their UK label asked them to record acoustic versions of some of their best songs at the legendary Olympic Studios, the offer was equally frightening and fun. “Because it was such a short time frame, there wasn’t enough time for fear or doubt to kick in. We knew we had to move in order to get it done, and that turned out in our favor, really,” explains Chikudate. “If we’re given more time, it can easily become a perfectionist nightmare.”
Yet the result, Rewolf, sounds just as lush, with a quiet intimacy and effortlessness that brings Chikudate’s voice and the band’s melodies into greater focus. Chikudate talks to Flavorpill about Rewolf, performing “naked,” and the artists that inspired the album’s arrangements.
On his Twitter profile, DJ /rupture, aka Jace Clayton, lists “dj * writer * jetlag king” as his occupations. And though he’s best known as the turntable mastermind behind albums like Uproot and Special Gunpowder and his latest release with Brooklyn producer Matt Shadetek, he wouldn’t be much of a DJ without the latter gigs. All three are intertwined: he’s written regularly for magazines like The Wire and N+1; and his recent piece for the latter, which landed in the 2009 Best Music Writing compilation, begins “I’ve DJed in over 20 countries…”
In the Mean Girls universe, Norwegian pop princess Anne Lilia Berge Strand would be Public Frenemy Number One. Some girls get hated on because they’re too pretty. Others, because they’re too smart. Worse are those who are both pretty and smart. And if she happens to be popular with the boys, then you may as well call her Carrie and fetch the pig blood. On the surface, Annie seems built to order. But on the afternoon we caught up with her to discuss her long-awaited sophomore CD Don’t Stop, she had been up all night DJing, helped a friend in the morning, and stayed up waiting for our call.
