Listening To...

  • Arcade Fire - Funeral. So, I recently really listened to Arcade Fire for what might be the first time. Previously, I had only heard a couple of songs here and there and I thought they sounded something like Magnetic Fields. And that was enough to keep me from wanting to hear more. Then they did a couple of songs on The Daily Show last month; and while I didn't really get into the songs, the fact that they didn't sound much like what I thought Arcade Fire sounded like was enough to get me to give the band a second chance. And then I bought this record, and discovered that most new bands sound like Arcade Fire.

    But who or what does Arcade Fire sound like to me? I mean, as opposed to all the bands who sound like Arcade Fire. Well, after listening to this record a few times, plus seeing them play live (on TV anyway), two bands immediately come to mind: Broken Social Scene and the New Pornographers. All three of these bands are large (in terms of members), Canadian, and they all do a lot of dense, large-scale, multi-part anthems:

    Arcade Fire, Neighborhood #1.
    New Pornographers, Bleeding Heart Show.
    Broken Social Scene, Forced To Love.

    And since I like BSS and The New Pornos, and because I think Arcade Fire's sound is close to those two bands, I obviously must like Arcade Fire, too. Right?

    Right. Mostly.

    But! I think Broken Social Scene is the more interesting of the three. And I think the New Pornographers' best songs are better than anything I've heard from either of the other two.

    What bugs me about Arcade Fire is that I hear their sound everywhere. Probably 75% of the new bands I've heard in the past couple of years have songs that sound exactly like Arcade Fire songs. Here's the formula:

    1. Moderately brisk drums, very straight, very steady.
    2. One instrument, strings probably, plays a simple and very slow moving melody, often using very long notes. Major key. Big dramatic resolutions.
    3. Another instrument might play a quicker, simple repeating melody in the background.
    4. The singer cries. (This is very important!)
    5. The volume slowly builds until the chorus when the whole thing explodes and the singer cries as loud as he can. (also very important!)
    6. Repeat.

    Three raquos: »»»

  • Sam Prekop - Old Punch Card. Prekop is the singer and rhythm (non-lead?) guitar player for the Sea And Cake (and he also shows up on Broken Social Scene's new record, which was produced by the Sea And Cake's drummer, John McEntire - and the two bands are touring together this fall). Prekop has put out two solo records which sound a lot like stripped-down, mid-period, Sea And Cake records (while the solo stuff by the other guitar player, Archer Prewitt, sounds nothing like SnC). I love those Sam Prekop solo records. Love em. So, I was pretty excited to see a new Prekop solo record was coming out.

    I imported the CD into iTunes and played the first track - wide eyed, big smile, anticipating. And I hear electronic bleeps and boops and clicking and sweeping. And I think... my, this is a long intro... And four minutes later, that track ends and it wasn't an intro to anything. OK, so he did a Musique concrète track. Track two will be a real song! Bazzztttt... booooop. Whirrrrr. OK maybe iTunes imported the CD incorrectly. Maybe the MP3s are corrupt. Maybe...? I play the CD directly, skipping iTunes. Same thing. Bad CD? Did Thrill Jockey screw up and send me a data CD ? check the printing on it, nope, says it's Prekop's new CD.

    I check the Thrill Jockey description of the record and...

    Old Punch Card is the third solo album by Sam Prekop with a completely unexpected sound unlike anything he's created before.
    ...
    The ideas and implementation of Old Punch Card (the album title alluding to the electronic, faintly mechanic origins of the music) were the result of an entirely new challenge: to do something completely different from anything else he's ever created. To facilitate this end, Prekop implemented a series of strict guidelines for the recording of the album. No vocals, no guitar (though he slipped in this regard on one track), and no beats. Most of the sound material is generated by a modular synthesizer. By its very nature, it excels at some things and not at others. It's very difficult to play a conventional chord, while on the other hand, it excels at creating completely unanticipated sounds and is rather effective when it comes to "chance" composing strategies.

    Yeah. Wish I'd read that first.

    As I said above, I love me some Sam Prekop solo stuff, but I just just can't even listen to a whole album of this stuff.
    Zero raquos. (oh how that hurts to write).

8 thoughts on “Listening To...”

  1. MikeJ

    Got a place I can email you a link? Got a zip file full of clips that will save you labor for a themed contest.

  2. Rob Caldecott

    Here’s what Arcade Fire sound like:

    ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-ding.

    But in a good way.

  4. platosearwax

    Boy, you nailed those three bands. BSS IS the most interesting of the three but man, the best New Pornographers songs are really something. Arcade Fire, to me, is the New Pornographers doing fair NP songs with different singers.

  5. platosearwax

    And far and away the best band that sounds like them is Frightened Rabbit, who I like a whole hell of a lot more than Arcade Fire.

  6. Rob Caldecott

    OT but a great UK band, The Charlatans, are playing at the Cat’s Cradle, Chapel Hill, NC tonight. That’s probably right around the corner from Casa Cleek!

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