Songs Of The Week #44

The Postal Service, Generationals, Eleanor Friedberger, CHVRCHES, & Taj Raj...

Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #44!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Songs Of The Week column, here's the story: TCDroogsma likes MP3's. Each week he downloads more songs than he knows what to do with. For reasons only he knows, he's also been devoted to The Current's Song Of The Day podcast since its inception back in 2007. Seeing an opportunity, we put him to work reviewing those Song Of The Day tracks. Forty four weeks later and here we are.

As always, we strongly suggest that you follow this link and subscribe to the podcast yourself. It's free and it's fun for the whole family!

To that end, we also suggest that you give each of the tracks a spin or two and then cast a vote for your favorite in the poll on the right side of the page. The winning artist receives the validation that comes with winning an anonymous internet poll, arguably the greatest height to which a modern musician can aspire.

So, Droogsy... thoughs?

01. The Postal Service – A Tattered Line Of String (from the deluxe edition of the album Give Up)

TCDroogsma:

     So The Postal Service is back.  Not only are they back to cash in on the Millenial generation's instant nostalgia-based existence with a tour, but, evidently they're releasing new music.  And thank goodness!  It's been about two months since The Current made me review a Ben Gibbard song.  I was beginning to think something had gone horribly wrong.

    
     To be completely honest, "A Tattered Line Of String" is not a bad song.  In fact, stacked up next to most of Give Up it's a pretty good one.  Sure, Ben Gibbard is still spinning yarns of doing, "some things that we knew not to do" with his female friends, and sure, Jenny Lewis' wordless vocals are absolutely shoehorned into this thing when they would have made a lot more sense singing one of the verses (a la "Nothing Better).  Still, Jimmy Tamborello's music has developed a nice, heavy bounce since the initial incarnation of the band.  Some guitar stabs and drums that, well, actually sound like drums instead of the "drum" button on a keyboard go a long way to making this one palatable.  Plus, much as I like to take shots, Gibbard does know how to sell a hook.

     All things considered, "A Tattered Line Of String" does a better-than-average job of being the "new material" for a reunion act.  Of course, considering all Gibbard & Tamborello had to do was show up, play Give Up, and cash their checks, better-than-average is a compliment.

Final Score: 3/5

02. Generationals – Spinoza (from the album Heza)

TCDroogsma:

     Like most people, my only exposure to Generationals was there excellent single "When They Fight, They Fight," a charming throwback girl groups of the 60's.  The fact that it was created by Ted Joyner & Grant Widmer, two indie rock lifers, made the song a bit of a curiousity.  Unfortunately, it also planted the seed that it could be an outlier in the Generationals catalog.

     With "Spinoza," it appears that seed has grown up into a pretty average jangly-guitar, whimpery white guy indie rock song.  C'est le vie.

Final Score: 2/5

03. Eleanor Friedberger – Stare At The Sun (from the album Personal Record)

TCDroogsma:

     True story: I was out at my favorite breakfast establishment last week (before I had downloaded "Stare At The Sun").  They had The Current playing at the bar and, come 10:00, they announced it was time to play the "Song Of The Day."  When the DJ said, "Today's song of the day comes from Eleanor Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces," the bartender, her friend, and myself all groaned in unison.

     Off the top of my head I can't think of any band that's presented to the public as a "big deal" as The Fiery Furnaces, yet doesn't actually seem to have any fans.  I do not know anybody who isn't aware of the band, but I don't know anybody who owns one of their albums either.  Listening to "Stare At The Sun," the latter half of that statement makes sense while the former is still a real mystery me.

     "Stare At The Sun" is pretty, strummy guitar pop that features some truly obnoxious, "I love you, I don't love, you love me, what's happening" storytelling.  How this woman ever managed to seduce Alex Kapranos is a mystery to me.

Final Score: 1.5/5

04. CHVRCHES – Recover (from the EP Recover)

TCDroogsma:

     CHVRCHES, despite their aversion to vowels, has been getting a ton of press in the indie rock world of late.  When I saw that I was going to be downloading one of their songs this week I was actually kind of excited to find out what all the hype was about.

    
     After several spins of "Recover," I'm left to wonder why everybody would be so damn excited about the girl from Paramore commandeering The Faint's keyboards.  Is this really how desperate the blogosphere has gotten to find "The Next Thing?"  I don't take pleasure in saying it, but CHVRCHES should give that Postal Service song a few spin if they want to figure out how to take a flimsy idea and turn it into something listenable.

Final Score: 1.5/5

05. Taj Raj – Romani (from the EP Fine Hearts Alive)

TCDroogsma:

     I don't know anything about Taj Raj other than their relentless desire to cover every square inch of South Minneapolis with flyers for shows.  They did a nice job, evidently, as I was happy to see that I would get to hear one of their songs this week.

     "Romani" is pleasant enough, if a little thin.  Taj Raj seems to be sliding into the place in the Twin Cities music scene that's been inexplicably vacated by Romantica.  The country strum of "Romani" leaves it feeling like a definite summer jam despite the lyrics being honest to a fault.  It's hard not to picture Taj Raj peddling this sound at every block party across the Twin Cities this summer if they so desire, though I get the sense that they'll be playing before 5:00 most Saturdays.

Final Score: 2.5/5

Well there you have it, music fans! Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, and filed away!

As always, please keep in mind that neither Newest Industry nor our contributors is in any way affiliated with the artists above, The Current, or Minnesota Public Radio. We're just music fans with laptops and a little too much time on our hands.

For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). He can also be found right here on Newest Industry hosting our free weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio.

For more Newest Industry, be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors. More importantly, we also have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a “Like” is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.

Big Day Out #4: The Dandy Warhols at First Avenue (6/9/13)

I like you, yeah I like you...

Well hello again, everybody!  Welcome to Big Day Out #4!

In this edition of Big Day Out we decided it would be fun to send TCDroogsma down to his home away from home, First Avenue, for The Dandy Warhols concert.  This show was no ordinary gig, though, as the band was playing their 2000 album Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia in its entirety.

So, Droogsy, what'd you think of the show?

As any loyal reader...or friend...or casual acquaintance of mine will attest, I'm prone to bouts of nostalgia.  In fact, on my worst days I pretty much drown in it.  Obviously, a lot of times this is a fault, and given the current trend of bands touring for older albums and playing them in their entirety, my propensity for nostalgia is suddenly being indulged to a very unhealthy degree.  However, like most unhealthy things, it's a lot of fun.

My history with The Dandy Warhols is actually closely linked with (fellow Newest Industry Contributor) MinneSarah's love of the band back in the late 90's.  I wasn't much of a fan back then, but the passing of time and, again, my unhealthy sense of nostalgia, have conspired to bring me around to the band.  To use a cliche, when it comes to The Dandy Warhols, they don't make 'em like this anymore.

It was very important that MinneSarah & I attend this show together, as we attended The Dandys show at First Avenue back in 2000 when they were touring for the initial release of Thirteen Tales.  It was a dreadful show, light on tunes and drowning is psychedelic, atmospheric drone.  In hindsight this was not surprising.  Thirteen Tales stands as the follow-up to their breakout album The Dandy Warhols Come Down, which turned out to be a bit of a curse.  It seems that, following Come Downs success, the band felt that they had license to indulge, not just on album, but on tour, where they were clearly battling the growing perception that they were "pop musicians" rather than "artists" through a mix of noise and, as Mike Skinner succinctly put it, "tour support."  It's one of a only a handful of shows we've ever walked out of before it ended and to this day it stands as a joke between MinneSarah & myself as one of the worst shows we've ever seen.

To be honest, I was surprised to learn that they were touring for the anniversary of Thirteen Tales at all.  Despite the fact that they've carved out a respectable career for themselves, to probably 85% of music fans, they're the one-hit wonders responsible for "Not If You Were The Last Junkie On Earth" off ...Come Down. They occupy the same place in most people's brains as Harvey Danger & Fastball.  A shame, to be sure, but the truth ain't always pretty.  For the band to take a more-than-a-decade-later victory lap for the less-successful follow-up album to their breakout seems counter-intuitive.

On the other hand, for a band that's been as lucky as The Dandy Warhol's have been over the years, it's only fitting that they would be playing a 13 song album in full to celebrate its thirteen year anniversary.  They were thumbing their noses back then and haven't quit since.

So, with a shot at redemption thirteen years in the making, how was the show?

Well, it was pretty great.



The band stuck to the script, opening the show with minimal introduction before easing into "Godless," the opening track from Thirteen Tales, it's pleasant guitar strum & horn accents providing a bit of a toes-in-the-water moment for both the band and the crowd.

(Crowd Sidenote:  I had no idea how well-attended this show would be for many of the reasons mentioned above.  I was pleasantly surprised to find First Avenue essentially packed with thirty-somethings who clearly held the album in high regard.  It was nothing but glasses and faded tattoos as far as the eye could see.)

As the band wrapped up "Godless" and started into "Mohammed" two things became clear.  First, the band left enough noise between songs that their was never complete silence, but they also didn't revel in the noise, thus allaying our concerns that they weren't too thrilled about revisiting an old album, but rather had shown up with the intention of doing its songs justice.  Second, when the tour promised a playing of Thirteen Tales "in its entirety," that meant that the album would be played front-to-back in order.

That second point may have seemed obvious, but on the only other occasion that MinneSarah and I've attended a tour with this format Evan Dando had almost no desire to play It's A Shame About Ray in order (and didn't even play the "Mrs. Robinson," the "hit" off the album, which he got away with on a technicality as it was the "secret track" on the album).  None of that mattered at that Lemonheads show as the Lemonheads are fantastic and it doesn't matter what order you get the songs, but I digress...

When it became clear that the band was sticking to the script the show became predictable for both the better and the worse.  While "Godless" & "Mohammed" provided little by way energy (save for keyboard player Zia's vigorous maraca work.  Seriously, I've been on a pretty zealous masturbation routine for 16 or 17 years now and there's no way I could shake maracas for the 10 minutes those two songs last.  The fact that she did so while remaining as oppressively foxy as my nostalgia-tinged mind remembered is nothing short of incredible), the knowledge that those songs would be followed by the turn-up-the-amps fuzz of "Nietzche" seemed to give that song an extra kick.

At this point it's important to note that the band sounded absolutely fantastic.  Courtney Taylor-Taylor's voice remains strong whether he was playing with harmonized falsetto's or the Lou Reed croak he'd adopted for Thirteen Tales.  Guitarist Pete Holmstrom & drummer Brent DeBoer may be a little grayer now than they were thirteen years ago, but they still nailed note-for-note renditions of the tracks.  The band was accompanied by two backup multi-instrumentalists (and I apologize for not knowing their names) who proved essential to recreating some of the more psychedelic moments of the albums.  Watching the band work through these songs so professionally was a genuine testament to why the band deserves to be taking victory laps this deep into their career.

The easy highlight of the first half of the set was the one-two-three punch of "Solid," "Horse Pills," & "Get Off," three songs that finally give the album a bit of hip-shaking sexuality.  Based on the reaction of the crowd, they are also three songs that had been forgotten, as the crowd (myself included) appeared to all receive an adrenaline rush simultaneously.  Those two songs absolutely lit up First Avenue with thirty-somethings (again, myself included) who probably hadn't cut loose to the joy of loud, fuzzy guitars in a little too long.

Now, when playing an album front-to-back in order, there are pros and cons.  First, the con:  As the band rallied through the end of "Get Off" and glided into the six minute atmospheric ballad "Sleep," anybody with working knowledge of the album knew that this was definitely bathroom & beer run time.  And that's just what most of us did.  On record, a song like "Sleep" makes a lot of sense in this spot, a bit of a palate cleanser after that three song run.  In concert... not so much.

However, as I mentioned, the upside of playing the album in order is not to be overlooked.  Once "Sleep" ended the band took to "Cool Scene" with admirable vigor.  What made "Cool Scene" work was the fact that it provided a nice way for everybody to work their now-empty-bladders and fresh beers back into the groove for what was going to be the first payoff for the evening, the raucous, timeless single "Bohemian Like You."  Because they were playing the songs in order, the anticipation for "Bohemian Like You" began almost as soon as "Cool Scene" ended.  The band smartly waited just long enough for everybody to realize what's coming next before DeBoer kicks in with the drums.  With everybody dancing and singing along, especially with those brilliant "Wooh!" bits that punctuate each chorus, this rendition of "Bohemian Like You" stood as one of those rare occasions in life where the act matches the anticipation.  In those four minutes both MinneSarah & I had completely forgotten about that "worst show ever" from thirteen years ago.  Redemption was theirs.

(Sorry, this was the best shot I could get)

The band dutifully worked through the last third of the album as those of us in the crowd dutifully nodded along with post-coital energy.  Admittedly, once "Bohemian Like You" was through, it was time to bide energy, buy more drinks, and hold on tight for an encore that was bound to contain once of the classic Minnesota songs of my generation.

Once they'd finished off "The Gospel," the rather tedious closing track on the album, the band was ready for a run through the bullet-points of their career and we weren't disappointed.  Cleverly, the band exited the stage and left only Courtney Taylor-Taylor onstage to lead the crowd through a rendition of "Every Day Should Be A Holiday" that was less "solo" and more "karaoke."  The crowd was clearly ready for round two.

Once the rest of the band returned to the stage we were treated to "Good Morning," and "Well They're Gone," which Taylor-Taylor concluded by saying, "That's one that took me thirteen years to finish and it's about the same people from this one..." before indulging our quietly-narcissistic Midwestern psyches with an absolutely glorious rendition of "Minnesoter."  It was the second time that evening that the band & crowd seemed to peak simultaneously, with those of us in the crowd eating up this bizzaro home state anthem and the band clearly reveling in playing the song here in its namesake.

They followed with a truly unnecessary rendition of "The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald," prompting MinneSarah to succinctly observe, "Well, that just happened."  There was still one last peak to reach, but when they launched into "Boys Better" it was clear that the crowd was Jason-Bateman-and-Julia-Louis-Dreyfuss-third-time spent.  The closing punch of "Boys Better" and "We Used To Be Friends" is probably brilliant along every other stop on the tour, but Minnesotans want to hear "Minnesoter."  That wasn't going to be topped.

Leaving the show, I couldn't help but feel a new affection for The Dandy Warhols.  The band has clearly found a nice medium between being "artists" and "populists."  Believe me, there is no way The Dandy Warhols circa 2000 were leading a crowd singalong through "Holiday."  It was beneath them.  They've clearly found some peace with work they've done and their designation as a cult act turned touchstone even if that stone is being touched by a small yet devoted (and increasingly affluent) fanbase.  Frankly, we came to the show offering the band a shot at redemption that was a long time coming.  We weren't disappointed.

There you have it, folks!  A night of nostalgia and redemption!  Everybody wins!

For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  He can also be found right here on Newest Industry hosting our free weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio.

For more Newest Industry be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors.  More importantly we have a Facebook page here.  Trivial as it seems stopping by and giving us a "Like" is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.

Songs Of The Week #43

IO Echo, Bonobo, Bored Nothing, & Dan Israel...

Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #43!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the SOTW column, here's the scoop: TCDroogsma has an MP3 problem. Each week he downloads countless MP3's just to try to find something that suits his curmudgeonly taste. Droogsy has also been slavishly devoted to The Current's Song Of The Day podcast since its inception back in 2007. Seeing a pretty obvious opportunity, we put him to work reviewing those songs. 43 weeks later and here we are.

As always, we strongly suggest that you follow this link and subscribe to the podcast yourself. It's free and it's fun for the whole family!

To that end, we also encourage you to give each song a listen or two and then vote for your favorite Song Of The Day in the poll to the right side of this page. The winning artist receives the validation of winning an anonymous internet poll on a blog, arguably the loftiest height to which a modern musician can aspire.

So, Droogsy... thoughts?

01. IO Echo – Ministry Of Love (from the album Ministry Of Love)

TCDroogsma:

     Taking a song title from the fabled home of The Party in Orwell's 1984, IO Echo sets the bar awfully high for themselves.  Fortunately, they not only leap the bar, but they leave room to spare.

     
     "Ministry Of Love" starts off with the kind of fuzzed-out guitar rumble that would make Kevin Shields so happy that he's sit on it for 15 years.  As singer Ionna Gika hovers her way through the first verse, it's easy to think that this song is going to be more of a My Bloody Valentine homage than anything else.

     But then the song lilts upward ever so slightly, hinting that there's a payoff coming.  Keeping the 1984 reference going, that pre-chorus buildup is the moment Winston Smith realizes Julia is corrupt, the moment they lean into each other that first time.

     All of this would be for not if the chorus didn't match the exploding heart rebelliousness of that forbidden kiss.  IO Echo does not disappoint.  The chorus soars with the strength of a Max Martin track, Gika repurposes the title, claiming, "this is our ministry of love!" as the song suddenly seems bigger and bolder than anything I've heard this year.  A gem of a single.

Final Score: 4.5/5

02. Bonobo – Cirrus (from the album The North Borders)

TCDroogsma:

     Over the past couple of months I've harped on the way that instrumental tracks are easily hemmed in by their title.  Without any lyrics to guide the listener, it's easy to take the title as the box and try to find a way to jam the song inside.  Lord knows I've done it repeatedly here in this column

    
     "Cirrus," however, presents a challenge for me because, going into this review I had no idea what the word "Cirrus" meant (turns out it's kind of high-altitude cloud, which I kind of suspected.  All those years in meteorology school for naught...).

     Well, "Cirrus" doesn't sound much like a cloud to me.  In fact, with its wind-chime & ping-pong ball noises it has a bit of a "found sound" vibe that didn't grab me immediately.  The song is nearly six minutes long and it takes two of those minutes doing.... something?  Kind of, but not really.  Finally, at that two-minute mark a bass line shows up and gives the song a much needed forward thrust.

     Unfortunately, rather than build on that push, the bass drop back out a minute later and we're left once again with wind chimes and ping-pong balls.  There's a half-hearted attempt at another build-up/climax in the last 90 seconds of the song, but it's just not enough.  Bonobo has some good ideas at play here, but not enough to make "Cirrus" much more than background noise.

Final Score: 2/5

03. Bored Nothing – Let Down (from the album Bored Nothing)

TCDroogsma:

     "Let Down" is my latest, greatest example of why I make sure to listen to these songs seven times over the course of a week before I sit down to hammer out these reviews.  It's built on the kind of slow-revealing charm that can only be fully realized after at least half a dozen listens.

     On first listen, however, it was tough to know what make of this one.  The song is built on a bass/drum shuffle that sounds beamed in from Gordon Berry's Motown, which makes the eventual arrival of some shoegazey guitar and shoegazier vocals (yeah, it's a word) a bit of a disappointment.  The swing of the intro seems lost never to return.

     However, as I mentioned, upon repeated listens it becomes clear that the swing never goes away.  Fergus Miller's vocals may live in the middle of the mix, but give them a close listen and you'lll see just what an ear for melody the guy has.  Sure, he buries it under a couple waves of guitar, but once you hear it you can't un-hear it.  "Let Down" is a pop song at it's heart, but it's one that you have to work a bit to enjoy. 

Final Score: 3.5/5

04. Dan Israel – Live On (from the album Live On)

TCDroogsma:

     This may sound like a dig, but trust me, it's not.  When I saw that this week's Minnesota Artist was Dan Israel, I knew that I could probably write this review without even listening to the song.  Again, that's not a dig, but it's the truth.

     
     Over the course of six years now The Current has passed along 5 of Dan Israel's songs via the Song Of The Day podcast and each one, while unique, is pretty much equal to the other.  Israel traffics in the kind of catchy, simple, well-constructed pop that made Ron Sexsmith a household name (assuming you live in an incredibly cool and/or Canadian household).

     "Live On" rides some shuffling drums, some tumbling piano, and a harmonica through Israel's very-midwestern sentiment of reminiscence.  His overall lesson:  "Realize the days just flee without a trace..."  The good, the bad, they all come and go.  It's important to just live on.  A modest request from a talented and modest songwriter.

Final Score: 3/5

Well there you have it everybody! Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, and filed away!

As always, please keep in mind that neither Newest Industry nor our contributors is in any way affiliated with the artists above, The Current, or Minnesota Public Radio. We're merely music fans with laptops and a bit too much time on our hands.

For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). He can also be found right here on Newest Industry hosting our free weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio.

For more Newest Industry be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors. More importantly, we have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a “Like” is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.

Songs Of The Week #42

John Grant, Gold & Youth, Dungeonesse, Alpine, & Crankshaft & The Gear Grinders...

Well hello again, MP3 junkies!  Welcome to Songs Of The Week #42!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the SOTW column, here's the scoop:  TCDroogsma has an MP3 problem.  He downloads dozens of MP3's each week just try to quench his thirst for new music.  He's also been devoted to The Current's Song Of The Day podcast since its inception back in 2007.

As such, we thought we'd try to channel his addiction into something productive.  Voila!  42 weeks worth of Song Of The Day track reviews and scores!

Of course, we strongly recommend that you follow this link and subscribe to the podcast yourself.  It's free and it's fun for the whole family!

To that end, we strongly encourage you to give the songs a few spins and, once you're confident in your opinion, cast your vote for your favorite song of the week in our poll to the right side of the page.  The winning artists receives the validations of winning an anonymous internet poll, arguably the greatest honor a musician can achieve these days.

So, Droogsy... thoughts?

01. John Grant - GMF (Greatest Living Creature) (from the album Pale Green Ghosts)

TCDroogsma:

     Listening to "GMF" the first time through, I thoroughly enjoyed the song.  It's fantastically catchy and it's ego-bluster lyrics are a nice change of pace from the usual indie-rock cliche bukkake The Current usually treats us to.  "I'm usually only waiting for you to stop talking so that I can...  Concerning two-way streets I have to say that I am not a fan..." are genuinely funny.  And yet, with the "you could be laughing..." line at the end of each chorus, Grant makes it clear that these lines are not to be taken seriously.

     With each further listen I found myself more confused as to the goal of the song.  It's obviously sarcastic, but it could be great.  In the hands of somebody with well-known pathos (think Lou Barlow or James Murphy), the song would have carried so much more weight.  Or maybe it's just a character sketch about one of the millions of "me-first" millenials that are slowly taking over pop culture. With that in mind, I though perhaps this was a case of me just now knowing enough about John Grant.  Maybe he does have the requisite pathos and "GMF" is the type of song that Grant fans will immediately recognize for what it is while those of us who don't know Grant's story are missing the point.

     So, after doing a big of reading, I discovered that Grant is both openly gay and openly HIV-Positive.  This information doesn't really help me understand the song much more, but it definitely forced me to look at it from a different perspective.  The line, "Go ahead and love me while its still a crime..." suddenly carries a lot more weight.  All of this is to say that "GMF" is a fine song, but as an introduction to John Grant, it's left me very confused.  Perhaps within the context of his entire catalog it makes more sense, but I'm left with more questions than answers, which, of course, means it's an ideal introduction to John Grant's catalog.

Final Score: 3.5/5

02. Gold & Youth - Jewel (from the album Beyond Wilderness)

TCDroogsma:

     When I was researching Gold & Youth for this column I found out that they're a band based out of Vancouver & Toronto and that they're signed to Arts & Crafts.  Suddenly, everything about "Jewel" made sense.  The eloquent & meticulous synth sounds, the well-crafted hooks, the nod to the 80's.... "Jewel" is the kind of song that you would absolutely hear if you played the "Neko Case" Pandora station (or the Broken Social Scene station. Or Japandroids. Or A.C. Newman. Or Arcade Fire. Or Stars.).

     I don't know exactly what they're doing in Canada (and I realize it's a bit presumptuous to just lump them in with fellow Canadian acts), but, even though "Jewel" is a fine song, it's difficult not to lump it in with this "Canadian Sound" that's been a going concern for much of the 2000's.  Gold & Youth have crafted a wonderful pop-single with "Jewel," but its pop-sheen is so strictly within the lines that it doesn't leave anything particularly memorable behind.

Final Score: 2.5/5

03. Dungeonesse - Shucks (from the album Dungeonesse)

TCDroogsma:

     Remember back in the late 90's/early 2000's when the pop-punk sound was genuinely beginning to lose its momentum and yet the genre was producing some of its best songs?  The charming struggles of  figuring out how to merge the two genres had finally given way to a formula for success and as new singles were released they were immediately written off as "another pop-punk song," and yet, many of the songs released at the time, when viewed 8-10 years, stand up as some of the best tracks to come from that sound.

     The reason I bring this up is because we seem to have reached that stage with indie musicians trying their hands at synth-pop.  If you read this column regularly you know that I usually spend at least one track a week reviewing some sort of synth-pop jam.  They're all kind of the same, but they're all very good.  Hell, just look at the track above this one for an example of what I'm on about.

     All of this is a roundabout way of saying that Dungeonesse's "Shucks" is a very good song, but I've heard so many songs that sound like this over the past 5 years that it's difficult for me to even differentiate between the tracks anymore.  "Shucks" is like the "Flagpole Sitta" of this synth-pop genre, a song that's probably better than a hundred similar songs that arrived before it, but suffers for being late-to-the-party nonetheless.  In another 8-10 years this'll probably come up on my iPod and I'll think, "Wow, that was a great song!" but for the time being it seems easily disposable.

Final Score: 2.5/5

04. Alpine - Gasoline (from the album A Is For Alpine)

TCDroogsma:

     There is really only one thing that really stands out to me about "Gasoline," Australian sextet Alpine's first real stab at gaining an American audience, and unfortunately, it's not the thing that's going to stick in the mind of somebody just hearing the song casually.

     "Gasoline" comes on like a synthed-up version of Tune-Yards, which, from my perspective, is a brutal, brutal thing.  I've no time for these quirked-out vocals and PG-13 come-ons.  The African-influenced guitar figure brings almost nothing to the table except a lazy Vampire Weekend comparison that I'm not a strong enough critic to resist making.  Really, there's not much to like here.

     The only real exception is the bouncy, almost hip-hop-esque, drum and synth that provides the backbone for the entire song.  Alpine has created a find canvas, but failed to paint anything memorable on top of it.

Final Score: 1.5/5

05. Crankshaft & The Gear Grinders - Boomtown (from the album What You Gonna Do?)

TCDroogsma:

     On its surface I can understand what Crankshaft & The Gear Grinders are trying to do.  "Boomtown" recalls a more straight-forward, less art-damaged version of rock n roll.  They represent the kind of greased-back hair, suits & sunglasses retro that people who are tired of odd-time signatures and wimpy guy vocals always seem to be clamoring for.

     The dilemma, however, is that a big part of the reason that art-damaged kids have bands is because this kind of straight-forward rock n roll has almost nothing new to say.  Crankshaft almost literally makes this point by starting each verse with a repeating couplet ("Taken so long to get up this hill... to get up this hill's taken so long" etc...).  When he ends the first verse with the plea to, "just let me sing my own song..." you find yourself begging him to do just that because by the time "Boomtown" ends you'll find yourself thinking you've just listened to a 4OnTheFloor b-side (which is not a good thing as that band is so relentlessly average that they seem to traffic exclusively in b-sides).

     I suppose that in a live setting, with the guitars turned up and the greaser-effect in full force, it's possible that Crankshaft & The Gear Grinders have the type of chops that will keep them opening at block parties and playing the Turf Club for as long as they desire.  On record, however, there's just not much here to get excited about.

Final Score: 1/5

Well there you have it, folks!  Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, and filed away!

As always, please keep in mind that neither Newest Industry nor any of our contributors are in any way affiliated with the artists above, The Current, or MPR.  We're just music fans with laptops and a little too much time on our hands.

For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  He can also be found right here on Newest Industry hosting our free weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio.

For more Newest Industry be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors.  More importantly, we have a Facebook page here.  Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a "Like" is a free & legitimate way to support the blog. 

Newest Industry: Doing Big Things #4

This shit! Is not! A game!

Just a friendly reminder that despite the warmer temperatures, those of us here at Newest Industry remain hard at work bring you the best Twin Cities blog in the... um... Twin Cities.

Newest Industry: Always doing big things!

For more of Reeses & Franklin, take a nice long walk south of downtown.  They're good pups, they just both really want that rope toy.

For more Newest Industry, be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors.  More importantly, we have a Facebook page here.  Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a "Like" is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.

Songs Of The Week #41

Deerhunter, Savages, She & Him, Still Corners, and Crimes...

Well hello again, MP3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #41!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the column, here's the scoop: TCDroogsma is a bit of an MP3 junkie. We're seriously beginning to think he has a problem. So, in order to help him turn this dangerous habit into something constructive, we've tasked him with writing Songs Of The Week.

Each week we ask TCDroogsma to download the songs given away via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. Once he's spent some time with the tracks, we ask him to write a quick review of each song and give it a score of 1-5.

As always, we strongly encourage you to follow this link and subscribe to the podcast yourself. It's free and it's fun for the whole family!

To that end, you'll notice there is a poll to the right side of the page. Once you've listened to the songs please feel free to vote for your favorite in the poll. The winning artist receives the validation of winning an anonymous internet poll, arguably the highest achievement a musician can achieve in this day and age.

So, Droogsy... thoughts?

01. Deerhunter – Back To The Middle (from the album Monomania)

TCDroogsma:

     My relationship with Deerhunter is short and uncomplicated.  When they play up their tuneful, hook-laden side I think they're nearly brilliant.  When they turn to odd-time signatures, half-baked ideas, and PoMo in the Moe Szylak sense (y'know, weird for weird's sake), I they they're nearly useless.  To be frank, if Deerhunter were a genuinely great band they'd figure out a way to meld these two things.  Based on my admittedly not-so-thorough knowledge of the band, they haven't figured out how to do that just yet.  However, this would only be an issue if I were being asked to review Monomania as a whole.  Fotunately, I am not.

     "Back To The Middle" has a lot in common with "If Only In My Dreams," Ariel Pink's brilliant singe from 2012.  Both feature bands fronted by love-em-or-hate-em frontmen (Ariel Pink in, uh, Ariel Pink's case and Bradford Cox in Deerhunter's case).  Both were/are putting out albums that came with their expectations that could push them from indie rock mainstays to indie rock touchstones.  And both come with killer singles that easily meet expectations.

     As I mentioned above, I'm not now (nor do I have any interest in) reviewing Monomania.  Personally, I find Bradford Cox's schtick pretty insufferable (He sings with bandaged fingers?  He wanted to serenade a rat?  C'mon...).  As a single, however, "Back To The Middle" features everything that's great about Deerhunter.  The instruments are all pushing toward the same fuzz ball groove (the lead-in to the chorus may be the most rhythmic thing I've ever heard from them).  Cox turns in a brilliant performance, ranging from shouty to pouty to downright seductive, all while lamenting how, "your low is just a sick, sick game."  "Back To The Middle" is a gateway drug bound to lead new listeners down the rabbit hole that is the Deerhunter catalog, but as a first hit, it's mighty intoxicating.

Final Score: 4/5

02. Savages – She Will (from the album Silence Yourself)

TCDroogsma:

     To be completely honest, "She Will" had won me over before Jehnny Beth's banshee wail had even entered my brain.  Just one listen to that shimmering guitar-crisp bass-steady drum buildup of the first 40 seconds was enough to convince me that "She Will" was going to be a great song.

    
     Once Beth does enter the picture, her voice, while distinct, is really just the fourth quarter of the whole.  Every member of Savages is well-represented in this song, which is a shrewd move considering a) the spotlight-stealing potential of Beth's looks & delivery and b) the daring gender-turnabout of the lyrics.  When the song calls for more passion, it comes from all members, with Beth's pushing her voice hard on the "she will!" refrain while Gemma Thompson's guitar takes on the sound of a buzzsaw (special props here to bassist Ayse Hassan, who drops out entirely before returning to bring the ruckus on the last refrain.  Sometimes the trick is knowing when not to play).

     With all hands on deck, "She Will" shows that there's still a place in the MP3 world for smart, powerful post-punk.

Final Score: 4/5

03. She & Him – Never Wanted Your Love (from the album Volume Three)

TCDroogsma:

     I like She & Him.  I saw them on their first national tour when they packed First Avenue and put on an expectedly charming performance.  I've been made fun of many times by people for being a fan of M.Ward and, to be honest, as someone who would have to be forced at gunpoint to watch an episode of The New Girl, I will defend a lot of Zooey Deschanel's work (she killed it in Elf).

     "Never Wanted Your Love" is not going to win over anybody who is not a She & Him fan already.  It's yet another in a very long (read: consistent) line of brilliantly catchy singles the two have put out over the years.  Theoretically "Never Wanted Your Love" should carry a bit more weight because it's the first single Deschanel's written since her divorce from Ben Gibbard, but given the subject matter of the group's previous work, that doesn't seem particularly fair.  She & Him tracks have always trafficked in being smitten, being in love, and being broken up.  Frankly, there's no way of telling just how genuine Deschanel's being on the song.

     (Quick Sidenote: I've spent a week being blown away by her dropping the line, "I'm tired of being clever, everybody's clever these days..." given that it's a line paraphrased from the old Smiths single "Rubber Ring."  The Smiths catalog, of course, played a role in the Deschanel film 500 Days Of Summer, making the reference brutally clever, which, circularly, implies that Deschanel doesn't even want to sing the line... My head hurts.)

    Anyway, a lot of people either don't care for She & Him at all or file them away under the always ridiculous "Guilty Pleasure" moniker (as if liking a certain song is something to feel guilty about).  I can't imagine ever putting "Never Wanted Your Love" on specifically, but as a shuffle track, to be sure, it's a charmer.

Final Score: 3/5

04. Still Corners – Fireflies (from the album Strange Pleasures)

TCDroogsma:

     From its title to its dreamy synth-pop sound, I'd swear that Still Corners was from Minnesota.  Not be too cynical, but living in the Twin Cities (and having even a passing knowledge of the music scene) means I've heard this song under various titles by different band a hundred times over the last 3 years.

    
     That's not to say "Fireflies" is a bad song.  On the contrary, it's an excellent dream-pop track with more than a little John Hughes thrown into the mix (it's not hard to hear the song soundtracking Molly Ringwald and Mike Schoeffling's kiss in Sixteen Candles).  But there's just nothing particularly new or interesting here.  It's a very well-executed songs that takes few risks and, as such, offers few rewards.

Final Score: 2.5/5

05. Crimes – Cloud Creep (from the album Thin Sunlight)

TCDroogsma:

     Crimes has been gaining quite a bit of buzz recently, however, true to my last-one-to-know m.o., "Cloud Creep" is the first song I've heard from them.

    
     After listening to the song for a week, I'm really charmed by the beach guitar sound that creates most of the vibe for the song.  More charming, however, is the way the vocals make it sound like the beach that guitars coming from is the same one Morrissey "trudged over" in "Everyday Is Like Sunday."  There's something sinister underneath the charm of "Cloud Creep" and that gives the song a bit of a leg up over the suddenly-very-crowded guitar band market of the Twin Cities.  With songs as devious as "Cloud Creep" Crimes' stock is sure to continue rising.

Final Score: 3.5/5

There you have it, folks! Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, and filed away!

As always, please keep in mind that neither Newest Industry nor its contributors is in any way affiliated with the artists above, The Current, or MPR. We're just music fans with laptops and a little too much time on our hands.

For more TCDroogsma, be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). He can also be found right here on Newest Industry hosting our free weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio.

For more Newest Industry, be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors. More importantly, we also have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a “Like” is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.

Big Day Out #3: TCDroogsma at The City Classic

I prayed more in The Dome than I ever did in church...

Well hello again, everybody!  Welcome to the third edition of Big Day Out!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Big Day Out column, here's the scoop:  In our quest to become your favorite blog in the Twin Cities we decided we needed a column in which our contributors could go out on to the beautiful streets of the cities and take in various events.  So far we've sent MinneSarah to the State Fair & TCDroogsma to the signing of the gay marriage bill.

This time around we put TCDroogsma to work and sent him to the Metrodome last Tuesday to take in the City Classic, an annual baseball game between the best team in St. Paul & the best team in Minneapolis.  This year's game featured Minneapolis Southwest against St. Paul Highland Park.

So, Droogsy... thoughts?

I can't remember the last time I was at a high school baseball game.  Maybe 16 or 17 years ago?  That was about the last time I accompanied my father (a high school umpire) to a game that he was working before puberty hit and I decided I was too cool to hang out with my dad (but not too cool to spend every waking hour sitting alone in my room playing Mortal Kombat II.  I wasn't a bright kid.).  To be completely honest, the prospect of covering a high school game for this blog sounded like a task more tedious than reviewing Ben Gibbard songs (the most tedious thing I've done for this blog yet).

However, my opinion was swayed by two things.  First, my father was umping the game and seemed genuinely excited about it.  Why was he so excited?  Well, the game was being played at the Metrodome and his excitement at the opportunity to ump on a major league field was contagious.  It's been years since I was in The Dome for any reason and this seemed like as good an opportunity as any to check in on the old eyesore.

That's him, second from the right.


So, Tuesday rolled around and I made the trek from my neighborhood over to The Dome.  As I strolled past HCMC and that big white pillow came into view I was surprised at how quickly I became flooded with nostalgia.  It's entirely possible that I'm the last person who's ever going to think, "Damn! I'm going to The Metrodome!," but that's exactly the thought that crossed my mind.

My love for The Metrodome is a difficult thing to explain.  Any clear-headed person will tell you that, yes, in fact, The Dome is a dump.  It's a football stadium that happened to hold a baseball team for 27 years.  Its concourse is too small, the seats are uncomfortable and poorly aligned, the sound system is terrible, and building itself is brutally stale and impersonal.

You know who didn't care about any of these things?  Young TCDroogsma.

Growing up with a father whose first love was baseball, The Metrodome was, to me, a baseball stadium first and everything else second.  Even today I tend to think of The Dome as the building where "the Twins used to play" rather than the building where "the Vikings actually play."

To me, the Metrodome was a place to see real life superheroes.  On any of 81 given days during the summer, I could be watching Kirby Puckett IN PERSON!  I could watch Kent Hrbek do his "No Smoking/Yes Drinking" bit over at first base IN PERSON!  Trivial as it seems now, I could watch Scott Erickson & Kevin Tapani pitch LIVE!  To a young baseball junkie, the realization that these people who were essentially characters on television could be watched up close and personal was a revelation.  That excitement was inextricably linked to my beloved Metrodome and all those things other people complained about.

To my young eyes, everything about those first days at the Metrodome was so big and shiny and new.  From the outside the structure seemed impossibly large, it's light blue pillars seemingly stretching all the way to the sky.  The tinny speakers outside of the stadium playing "We're Going To Win Twins!" on repeat were like sirens, enticing me with a song that had previously only existed in my house, yet was now here calling all like-minded fans to the stadium.  Once inside, Bob Casey's voice rolled throughout the stadium like a voice from heaven.  "Batting third, the center fielder, #34, KIIIRRRBBYYY PUCKETTT."  To a young man who grew up loving the Twins, it was hard to imagine there was a happier place on Earth than the Metrodome.

In many ways, I grew up with the Metrodome.  Yes, there was something vaguely scary about going to The Dome as child (being in the big city of Minneapolis itself was terrifying in and of itself). But the thrill of being there was overwhelming.  Everything that happened in the stadium had an air of excitement.  The music was loud, the fans were louder, the lights were bright, the flaws seemed barely perceptible.  Sure, if I could go back and relive those early days it would probably be a very underwhelming experience, but that's a concept.  Through the lens of nostalgia, everything back then was perfect.

It's possible that I only feel this way through a stroke of good timing.  You see, I was 9 years old in 1991, just old enough to create life-long memories, yet still young enough to believe in the magic of rally caps, 7th inning stretches, and grown men as superheroes.  And, more than anything, I was fortunate enough to spend Game 6 and Game 7 of the 1991 World Series in the seats in the upper deck behind home plate with my dad.

I'm not a good enough writer to express the thrill, terror, and unbridled joy contained in those two nights.  The sheer volume of 60,000 delirious Twins fans made it impossible for my dad and I to have any semblance of conversation (and we were right next to each other).  To this day, I've never experienced any moment in life as simultaneously scary & exhilarating as Kirby's home run to win Game 6.  The noise was just overwhelming, the thousands of homer hankies making it difficult for pre-growth-spurt Droogsy to see Kirby pump his fist, but within that swirl of sight & sound was such jubilation that fear gave way to revelry quickly.  Only once in my life have I experienced anything comparable, and it happened to be the next night when Gene Larkin slapped a single to right field, scoring Dan Gladden to win the series.  To this day, when I see those clips on television, I can't even believe that I was there.  Sometimes I can't help texting my dad just to say, "Can you believe it?"  All he ever says back is, "That was something special."

Of course, like a gambler who's dealt a blackjack his first time at the table, the thrill of going to the Metrodome never completely dissipated.  There were many games over the years with my entire family coming up.  We went just to see Sammy Sosa's Cubs back when interleague play still held intrigue (Slammin' Sammy did not disappoint, launching a bomb into the left field seats to the delight of pretty much everybody) and a random win against the Yankees that led to "Yankees Suck!" chants in the parking ramp stand out. I even remember one time specifically going up with my friends once we'd turned 16 just as an excuse to use his new driver's license for a trip to The Dome.  If memory serves the Twins beat the Indians in something like 15 innings, but that was beside the point.  The last Twins game I remember attending at The Metrodome was a home opener on a second or third date with a girl.  The Twins lost to the Angels, but it hardly mattered as we ended up standing in the snow at the lightrail station afterward, holding each other closely in an attempt to stay warm as the night quickly morphed from "mine" to "ours" for the first time.

I bring up those last two games just to illustrate just how much of a constant the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was in my life.  It was there when I was just impressionable enough to appreciate its magic, was there when my parents needed something myself & my three younger siblings could agree on, there again when my friends and I needed an excuse to take those crucial first flights away from the nest, and there one last time when I needed something big & stupid to try to win over a woman.

So, why do I bring all of this up?  Because, as a 31 year old who bleeds skepticism, returning to the Metrodome on Tuesday brought all of those feelings rushing back.  All the things that shaped me from a 9 year old boy to a 31 year old man washed away as I walked back through the gates.  My eyes still got wide with disbelief at that first sight of the base paths and outfield glimpsed through the stairwells.

These days the Dome isn't what it used to be.  Nearly all signs of the Twins tenure at the Metrodome have been removed, save an imprint of the "TC" logo that can't be removed from the wall and that beautiful light blue seat in left field, painted a different hue from its thousands of brothers to symbolize where Kirby's home run landed.

This day, the baseball field was crisscrossed with lines from a soccer pitch, the bases didn't have any dirt surrounding the bag, hell, even the "baggie" in right field is nothing but a distant memory.  Perhaps, most jarringly of all, was the total saturation of the Minnesota Vikings.  Those pillars I mentioned above are now purple.  The signs in the concourses no longer feature any reminders of the Twins' past glories, only Adrian Peterson rushing records and Alan Page profiles as far as the eye can see.  Hell, the stadium isn't even called The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome anymore.  You know what it's called now and I'll be damned if I'm going to type it out.

All of these changes gave my last visit to The Dome the feel of a funeral.  Not just any funeral, but the funeral of someone loved but not seen for years.  The haircut is new, the makeup is different, the age lines more prominent than I recalled.  And yet, it was still the same old girl.  The same one that caused my heart to race with excitement as a child still had the ability to transport me back to a time when things were more pure and simple.  A time when athletes weren't merely talented men, when teams meant more than different colored laundry, and when sometimes just believing as hard as you could was enough to make something magical happen.

Of course, with the demolition of the Metrodome now merely a matter of time, I'm sure many writers will take their turn eulogizing the stadium.  Many of those writers were closer to my present age when the Dome opened, and given my feelings toward Target Field (a wonderful facility and a worthy recipient of civic pride, but certainly not "magical"), I'm inclined to believe that most of those eulogies will not do the stadium justice.  It doesn't take much to write it off as an ugly, sterile barn whose greatest attribute was its versatility (in the sense that it sucked to see any event there) and I'm sure most of the columnists will do just that.  For some of us, however, The Metrodome stands as one of the last buildings in town that houses perpetual youth.  Underneath that ugly white roof lies a place that, even after 31 years, is still capable of turning back time, turning off the pressures of the real world, and reminding a man that life isn't nearly as complicated as he may think.  I may be alone on this one, but I'm going to miss the old ball park.  I'm glad I got a chance to say goodbye.

(Editor's Note: Droogsy!  What about the game?!?)

Oh, right.  Highland Park ended up ten-running Southview in a game whose main excitement was the sheer terror created every time one of those piercing, aluminum-bat aided "PING!" sounds jolted me from dozing gripped by the fear that a foul ball was about to shatter my jaw.

That's better.

Well, there you have it folks!  TCDroogsma may not have covered the baseball game very well, but a special day was had none the less!

For more TCDroogsma, be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  He can also be found right here on Newest Industry hosting our free weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio.

For more Newest Industry, be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors.  More importantly, we have a Facebook page here.  Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a "Like" is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.