okay, here are some great artists i’ve been listining to recently:
will oldham – probably the best singer-songwriter you’ve never heard of. this guy is amazing in a very sad, almost creepy sort of way. when i listen to his music, my blood runs cold. his standout, classic actually, album is I See a Darkness. i think the reviewer at pitchforkmedia.com, the independent record review site, does this album more justice than i can. you can read the review here. read it? good. now you might have noticed that the album is credited to “bonnie prince billy”. mr. oldham has made a career out of name changes, and you can also find his other work credited to his actual name, the palace brothers, and palace, as well as his current moniker. if you make an effort to listen to someone this fall, i really think this man is worth your time. download the title track “i see a darkness”. it’s so good, the late Johnny Cash covered it on his last album. Yep, that Johnny Cash. These songs get into you. Oldham’s funeral dirges, dead sea chanteys, and various other, sometimes baroque, songs are simple, sparse and intense. this is not easy listening. as the reviewer put it, “this is not even music. it can’t be. it’s something else.” oldham is fast becoming the robert johnson of the 21 century (and if you don’t know who rj is i suggest you do yourself a favor and look him up too, you’ll be better for it) it’s hard to be a singer-songwriter nowadays. rarely have i encountered someone this good. check him out.
now speaking of creepy,
devendra banhart – okay this another relative unknown to most folks and that’s probably good. you are either going to like this guy or hate him. his 23 word album title (too long to print here) was recorded in various locations throughout the world, yeah the world, on broken four-tracks and friends’ answering machines. don’t expect high fidelity here folks. what you should expect is a voice that can rise to a witchy screach in an instant, simple very creepy guitar lines, and wild surrealistic lyrics. this guy is a one-instrument pyschedelic folk singer. sounds weird? it is. if you can look for the song “cosmos and demos”. i think it’s a great example of his style and it also has an interesting back story. i’ll share it with you.
banhart starts the recording with an old broken music box. creepy enough. then he starts to play this eerie guitar figure and within about 3 seconds into the song you hear a gunshot in the background. banhart claims that he made the recording in paris on bastille day. he said as he was laying down the track, he saw a pimp with a handgun walk into the apartment next to him through his open door. as he continued recording, a gunshot was fired. it’s captured on tape. throughout the rest of the song, other loud pops can be heard. banhart claims that these are from the bastille day fireworks. whether this story is true or not, (i personally think it is considering the ecentric nature of the singer and the quality of the recording itself) the whole eeriness of the song is undeniable. you may hate his voice and lyrics, but you have to love the sometimes chance happening that make music interesting! i think this guy is great, at least on the verge of greatness, but you need to hear him for yourself to decide.
next on the list is another folkie
iron and wine – actually it’s just one guy, sam beam. iron and wine’s lp “creek drank the cradle” is outstanding. think nick drake, meets csny. okay think, great soft folk songs with one guy singing three part harmonies. i mean this guy can sing. his lyrics are beatiful too and he has a great sense of melody and song arrangement. this recording is also very lo-fi, another home studio project, but it’s amazing all the same. beam lacks the eeriness of the above-mentioned artists and replaces it with a mellowness, a nice sad melancholy and occasional spiritual joy. if you like beautiful music, you will love this guy. he remindes me very much of a happy childhood, and his songs are endearing. don’t be suprised if you see him getting covered and name-dropped relatively soon. (he also recently covered the flaming lips “waiting for a superman”, i haven’t got the bootleg, but i’d love to hear it as i love the lips and this artist. dave, be on the lookout for a copy!)
okay so maybe folk rock isn’t your thing, maybe your more into…..say… japanese-psych-thrash. if your looking for something heavier i reccomend..
acid mother’s temple – this is a collective of japanese psychedilic-metal-thrash farmers, (i am serious, they live in like a commune) who produce some of the wildest acid rock you will ever hear. check out pitchfork’s review of Electric heavyland, a mothers LP to find out what i am talking about. led by guitarist Kawabata Makoto (who if your interested in guitar you should check this guy out….he’s a true guitar god by himself and he is producing some of the most exciting experimental guitar work in years, imo) these guys are churning out some of the craziest and creative work i have heard in rock in a long time. if you like innovation, noise, and more noise, and drones, a la new classical music , you should check these guys out. they are in a world of their own. again, not for everyone, but with an open mind…
finally something a little easier to swallow,
spiritualized – chances are if your reading this you might be like the thousands of folks who spin radiohead for some weighty intellectual experiment music, the flaming lips for instant joy, and if your me, you spin spiritualized for a wave of melancholy beauty. this is progressive rock spaced out and drugged out to the max. this is the feeling you get after that great date has gone home and you’re on the roof staring at the stars. really, this band is killer and if you like radiohead or the lips then spiritualized will complete the trinity of cutting-edge rock. i reccomend the “lazer guided melodies” LP. this is beautiful stuff. (and it was recorded in ’91!)
honorable mention goes to the following b/c i can’t just blog all night i got to get to homework:
1. my bloody valentine – the subject of a future post
2. elliot smith
3. nick drake
4. john fahey
5. the microphones
6. dizzee rascal – mc from london – more on him later
all these artist are worth checking out so if you want to find out more about them b/w now and my next post, go search the web, there is plenty of info out there. peace, my hw calls!