The Sonic Parthenon Playlist: Mid-June 2009

Action Painters
The kids put out a self-titled collection of new and old and new-old stuff, including a snappy cover of "Money Changes Everything" and a revamped, smashing version of their own "456".

Zee Avi - "Bitter Heart"
She sounds like the Ditty Bops and Norah Jones all rolled into one.

Death - For All The World to See
This actually belongs in one of the earlier playlist posts but the day I stop playing "Keep on Knocking" is the day I concede to being wrong about something, anything.

Fanfarlo - "The Walls Are Coming Down"
Like Beirut but happy.

Finding Fiction - "Them or Me"
Another good anthem rocker for the year.

The Pains at Being Pure at Heart - The Pains at Being Pure at Heart
This could have been posted anytime this year but it is really in the last month or so that I have come to fully appreciate this remarkable debut record, particularly songs like "Young Adult Friction" and "Everything With You". Along with the Metric and Camera Obscura records, this may very well complete the soundtrack to the summer.

Suckers - "Easy Chairs"
I saw these guys many moons ago when they were nothing. They made a fine impression. But who knew they would become such raves?

Honorable Mentions: The Evening Rig, Miike Snow, Peaches, Viva Voce,

Sonic Parthenon's The Year In Music 2008: Part 5

Magnetic Fields
"Nun's Littany" and "California Girls" - two examples of Stephen Merritt channeling the Jesus and Mary Chain and running away with it. Remember when the Raveonettes sounded like this? I wish they still did.

Maps of Norway
One song - "The Runout" and not much more is known about this Minnesota band. Just one compelling song, recalling the best of Blondie, New Wave, and the early 2000's revival. A beautiful female voice leading a crackerjack band. Thanks to MPR's Song of the Day for this.

Metric
Metric technically put out nothing in 2008 but that mattered none. With a late 2007 release of their Live at Metropolis DVD, and working on their new record for most of this year, the band didn't lose a step. The August concert at the Highline Ballroom may have been the show of the year for its consistency, for its absolute perfection. A month later, Emily and Jimmy showed up at Union Pool to play an acoustic set of the upcoming record, sans the much loved "Stadium Love". Late in the year, they gave Canadian radio "Help I'm Alive", a hopeful signature of a stellar album to come. If 2009 isn't going to be dominated by Metric, I'll be very surprised.

Murder by Death
With the stunningly good Red of Tooth & Claw, Bloomington's Murder by Death ended its long New York drought with a killer show at the Bowery Ballroom. They returned with an opening slot for Gogol Bordello at McCarren Park, and they'll be back again soon, making up for all the lost time. Considering how great Red of Tooth & Claw is, it should keep them going for a good couple of years.

MGMT
MGMT owned 2008 in both the mainstream and Indie circles. And though their shows are impossible to get into their music is not. "Time to Pretend" became a real hit in 2008, while "Kids" backed it up with an even catchier melody. "Electric Feel" had both of those songs beat plus the rest of the record and most of the music of the year. In fact, one of the best songs of the decade and one of the best party songs of all time.

My Teenage Stride
On the strength of the exceptional "To Live & Die in the Airport Lounge", one of the great local bands kept the spirit of pop alive. Their show at Don Hill's was fun and they promise to keep making good music but it will be hard to top that instant classic.

The National
Unlike most years, in which a Best Album of the Year loses its title to something from the same year heard in the ensuing 12-24 months, the National are looking good to hold onto 2007's title with Boxer. They didn't need to do much in 2008 so they put out The Virginia EP, a pleasant collection of Boxer excess plus some other tidbits. Ignoring the pretentious and poorly-directed documentary made about them, and considering their exquisite show at the BAM Opera House, as well as their fine opening for R.E.M., the National are heading into 2009 with the signature of a band with one foot in the door of all time greatness.

O’Death
Like a grimy snowball, the O'Death boys took their 2007 shenanigans and turned it into a full-on scuzzy hoedown in 2008, with extremely good opening slots for Murder by Death and Flogging Molly. And now they have the money to buy shirts so they have no excuses.

Obama
He may not play an instrument, he may not be able to sing, but Barack Obama either was part of or inspired a church of music that energized and emboldened a couple of generations to get together and elect the man President. With Stevie Wonder's "Sign, Sealed, Delivered" leading the charge, with Jay-Z and Will.I.Am keeping the youth involved and Will in particular making poetry of the man's words, with a couple of fellows named Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel playing TOGETHER for him, and a host of DIY tunes in the man's name spanning genres and continents, music never played such a big role in an election. Best moment: The use of U2's "City of Blinding Light" for his stage entrance at the Convention, capturing a slice of American history we will never forget and inspiring a re-evaluation of a forgotten gem from the band's last record.

The Okmoniks
Sexy, sexy, sexy. Oh and rock n' roll.

The Orion Experience
From their Luna Lounge performance early in the year to their CMJ jamboree at Public Assembly, the Orion Experience essentially introduced themselves in 2008 and aim to be sticking around. The band's album is a bevy of sexually charged bubblegum delight, led by "Sexy Dynamite", "The Queen of White Lies", and "Obsessed with You".

Gogol Bordello; Murder by Death @ McCarren Park Pool

Gogol Bordello; State Radio; Murder by Death
@ McCarren Park Pool
Brooklyn, NY - June 20, 2008

Jack T. Conqueror, joining me in attendance at this mammoth gig, said it best (paraphrasing): "this is either a real sign of the internationality and universality of music or this is the Village People", and the truth with Gogol Bordello is that it is both. For every second that the shtick and the monstrosity of the shtick serve as overkill, there is a second of absolute success and brilliance. If they weren't so talented, they couldn't pull it off. Eugene and company certainly set out to give you your money's worth and they succeed at that. The only real problem they have is that a period of exhaustion quickly sets in...as in, YOU, the concert goer (or in this case, ME, the concert goer) gets exhausted. Maybe it's because I'm not one of the hundreds of fans going absolutely ballistic upfront. A good chunk of the success of a Gogol concert is the fandom. It is hypnotic to see the most eclectic crowd in New York also be the most intense crowd in New York. And that by rationale, the immensity of the band, the sound, and the venue all work very well.
That immensity did not work well for the other bands on the bill. State Radio in particular may not work well anywhere for any reason period. A hypermix of stoner metal, white boy reggae (and not that good Clash kind of white boy reggae), and Warped Tour stupidity, these Boston kids just don't cut it.
Murder by Death actually suffered from the surroundings. They played too early to too small a crowd in too big a venue. The hollowness of the environs swallowed their sound and made them seem a little off, even if they really weren't. For whatever reason (maybe these just listed) Adam seemed to focus on more of the downer numbers, the ones that require him to moan just a slight bit. To see Murder by Death in their absolute prime, see them in small, humble places in order to appreciate their humble effort at making compelling outlaw rock. When they want to tear it up, they certainly can, and they certainly should, on a regular basis.

Dream Ticket: Gogol Bordello and Murder by Death

June 20
McCarren Park Pool

Whole Lotta' Death: Murder by Death, O'Death @ Bowery Ballroom

Murder by Death; O'Death; Kiss Kiss
@ Bowery Ballroom
New York, NY - April 4, 2008

Murder by Death are essentially ghosts. They lurk behind the scenes, making their spooky slices of gallantry and reflection in an alluring shroud. They seemed to have come from nowhere despite being one of the hardest working bands of the decade. And all their songs, in all shapes and sizes, combine a dirty, rough western edge with a sense of gravitas. And lead singer Adam Turla's mutton chops included, they cut an imposing presence, particularly Sarah Balliet on strings. Biting yet graceful.

O'Death were on fire this night, no other way to put it. Everything sounded swampy, stompy, and chilling. They had themselves a hootenanny but, much like their touring partners from Bloomington, they know how to stir a dark pot.
Kiss Kiss sounds like Dream Theater meets...well...Murder by Death. But it's not as good as it sounds.

TIME FOR DEATH: Murder by Death and O'Death to Commit Malfeasance Together

April 4th. Bowery Ballroom.

Murder by Death


O'Death


And this macabre feast will be fresh off the heals of the 3/29 O'Death show with Langhorne Slim at the Music Hall.

Metric Performed on Fearless Music

Handshakes

Fearless Music is an inconsistent but nevertheless needed and relevant music program that airs here in New York late Saturday nights on the Fox channel. Be Your Own Pet plays tonight and the past has seen the Mooney Suzuki, the Raveonettes, and a host of others, perhaps most notably Murder By Death, which is how I found out about that band.