Todd Terje - It's Album Time

Todd Terje - It's Album Time

I literally cannot wait to get this vinyl.  Ah, the best of the disco era.  Freshened up to the modern era.  Really, what is there not to love here?

Todd Terje is the stage name for Norwegian DJ multi instrumentalist Terje Olson.  Terje has described his music as danceable elevator music.  What could be better for me - a kid who grew up forced to listen to MUZAC and choosing to listen to disco.  Perfection really.  You can feel yourself getting out of your Deloreon as this music is playing in the background.  Oddly the track from this album "Delorean Dynomite" is exactly the track I would want playing in the background as I got out of my Deloreon - Wolf of Wall Street style.  Or maybe my favourite track - "Leisure Suit Preben"

I'm not planning on going into depth on this one, it would ruin the mood of the whole deal.  But there is a truly deeper, introspective side to this music if you are listening carefully.  A snapshot of what it means to be lonely - buried in the dance floor of your mind.

Roxy Music does come to mind as an immediate comparison.

Here's the very fun, sad and absolutely deeply brilliant "Inspector Norse" video (I actually believe this is the best music video I've ever watched):  Terje

Minutes after describing this music as similar to Roxy Music, I ran across this video: Terje and Bryan Ferry

About the making of this: Bryan Ferry - Alphaville (Todd Terje remix)

And then realised Bryan Ferry is the vocalist in the song "Johnny and Mary"

Doh

What does poetry have to do with a music blog?

Nothing and everything.  Every song is a poem.

I was reading about Jack Kerouac today and it inspired me to take a walk through the Hampstead Heath.  If you've never done this in London, I highly recommend it.  As I sat down after about 3.5 hours of stumbling around and spraining ankles on muddy back trails, I wrote something that just made me actually cry.  If you know me well, that would not surprise you at all.

This poem was ostensibly about someone special to me.  But then I realised it was really about everyone.  I thought I'd share it even though it's obviously personal. I hope you don't mind.  I usually keep my poems to myself and my iPad.  But I'm not going to do that forever.

(And for my drinking mates, no I'm not crazy or anything.  And I'm completely sober at the moment.)


Thoughts on Kerouac

The world we see is just a movie
The rock does not see
Our thoughts are irrelevant
Our equations zero sum games

All we have is love
All our gifts to the world are love
So we must give and give
And withhold nothing

We must sound love's call
And we must love receiving it
And ignore the world of chemistry
Of neurons firing and biology

And forget our bodies
They are nothing
Self is of no importance
It and they have no future

This movie will end
Credits will scroll the page
Teardrops will fall and organs play
But true love once given remains

For every single part
Where you have a role here with me
I am thankful and remember my friend
I will love you


Well since this is still a music blog, not a tear inducing poetry blog, I just wanted to post a wonderful video to remind my normally musically literate friend Paul who Jack White is.  Frankly, this song sticks in my brain every single time I think about the importance of being present in anyone's life. Such a critical thing.

White Stripes - Doorbell: White Stripes - Doorbell

An Ode to Big Star's #1 Album

Albums in 1972.  The probable best album by all accounts was David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust.  You have Exile from the Stones.  The top selling Harvest from Neil Young . . .

But still my favourite hidden gem by a Memphis mile, Big Star's #1 Record. Ziggy was an extension to something new, fresh and different from literally the most interesting artist of my lifetime and a classic in its own right that I refuse to dismiss.  It's right there and I'm certainly not going to dismiss it.  But Memphis musicians/songwriters Alex Chilton and Chris Bell were quite a pairing.  Alex was the original anti-star - making the bands name a bit of a farce to begin with.  The album captures the mood and essence of the late 60s.  A bit of Stones, a bit of Byrds and a lot of Beatles but distinctly its own record and clearly 70s and edgy rock pop - when you consider Neil Young to be pop. The vocal harmonies are stunning. The lyrics at times joyous and other times ironic to sad - but always beautifully written - and directed to every single one of us. Proving to me that simple thought is always more meaningful.  Every song standing perfectly on its own as its own expression of feeling in time.

"Feel" is the perfect opener - how great to start an album with the lyric "it's getting very near the end"about a relationship dying on the vine. Then there's the "Ballad of El Goodo"- a great song about individuality and dealing with your own faults.  "Thirteen" is a big time favourite or nearly everyone that hears this album.  A bit of sexy lyrical coaxing. "Won't you be an outlaw for my love?"  It's the start of anything romantic really. Then "Don't Lie to Me" comes in with a harsh message to don't fuck with Alex's heart.  Lol. How quickly the tides turn. Towards the end, the song "Watch the Sunrise" captures something for me that's hard to describe - that moment of sudden optimism after life's little disasters which we cyclically experience.  "St 120/6" follows with such a heartfelt sigh - a simple sad plea - shortly stated. 57 seconds of perfect expressed desparation.  A second more would have been a waste and simply intrusive. This is the ebb and flow of Big Star's first and greatest opus. And departing from much before it or after - each song clearly just intended to convey one simple thing - a feeling in a moment.  Maybe the only thing that matters in life in many ways.

Highly acclaimed by the critics and even more so years later when artists like REM and the Replacements brought the album back to the forefront of the music world. Originally not available in stores, it sold less than 10,000 copies. Today, it sounds just as great as the first time I heard it and it strikes me in exactly the same way. If you are a fan of classic rock at all, this should be in your collection today. I'm still surprised how many people never heard of the band or this album.  You should own it and, in fact, in more than one format.  Spanning an era of media from 8 track to record to cassette to CD to MP3, you should have bought it at least 2 times -- assuming you could find it.

Recording footage: Big Star recording footage

No real videos available so how bout some Big Star covers for fun (from this album and others):

Elliot Smith Nighttime: Elliott Smith Nighttime
Elliott Smith Thirteen: Elliott Smith Thirteen
Wild Things 13: Wild Things Thirteen
Dum Dum Girls - September Gurls: Dum Dum Girls cover September Gurls
Adam Duritz - Ballad of El Goodo: Adam Duritz - El Goodo
Christopher Elam - Blue Moon: Christopher Elam - Blue Moon
Sivert Hoyam - Holocaust: Sivert Hoyem - Holocaust
The Autumn Defense - You Can't Have Me: Autumn Defense - Can't Have Me
Lovely Sparrows - Take Care: Lovely Sparrows - Take Care

Serious Treats From Denmark and Iceland - Courtesy of Johnny Vic

I have some serious treats for you.

I really like the trend of artists coming out with playlist suggestions.  I can't tell you how much interesting music I've found this way.  The latest list I stumbled across was a list of favourite tracks from Johnny Vic a/k/a Satellites.  Johnny's a brilliant musician of his own right.   He's also an Englishman living in Copenhagen and he's certainly run across some interesting indy music.  Johnny's song list is strung with some more common choices - M83, the National, Talk Talk - all brilliant - and one pretty cool guilty pleasure (dome) - Frankie Goes to Hollywood.  But he also lists 3 artists I've never heard of and frankly I'm not sure I've heard better than the three albums I stumbled across from Johnny's list:

Alcoholic Faith Mission - Ask Me This

This is such a terrific album.  I love the collective vocals.  The interesting thing about this band is that they have a recording rule - namely they can only use the instruments that happen to be in the room in making each song.  I have a hard time describing this music other than it's what I always hoped Arcade Fire would become.   Really fantastic, creative music.

Alcoholic Faith Mission video - Into Pieces: Into Pieces

Olafur Arnalds - For Now I am Winter

I'm shocked I missed this one in many ways.  Is there only room for one amazing act from Iceland?  There should be more room.  In retrospect, this is likely one of the best albums of 2013 hands down.  Just immerse yourself here.  Such emotionally powerful music.

Olafur Arnalds gorgeous video - Ljosio: Ljosio

Mads Bjorn - Monolith

I didn't make any kind of music list in 2012.   If I made a 2012 best albums list - in retrospect - Monolith would most certainly be on it.   Just superb from start to finish.

But no need to stop there.  Mad's new album may well go right to the top of my 2014 list.  "How to Giggle and Give In" is a trek through some killer disco with a real 80s flair and then taken up a notch.   You have to have love a guy that puts a Rick Roll in the middle of his album.  Not your normal Rick Roll, but the actual Rick Astley on a track with lyrics written by . . . Charles Bukowski??  Jesus Fucking Shit a Duck that's amazingly cool.  Again, go back to the Monolith album and then decide how much you can handle of the new album.  It's growing on me by the moment.  Please watch the video below.   He just blows up the stage at the end.  Fantastic.   Only my best friends and family know what a disco freak I am.  And this is disco that really rocks.

Mads with Fallulah live (from the new album): Mads Bjorn/Fallulah

Not bad for a random update on a Monday night