why so many violins?

last.fm meme of doooom

2010-11-21T18:46:00.000-08:00

'Cause what else do I have to do on a Sunday morning? Answer: Nothing. (Whatever, laundry, you can wait.)

Anyway, I did this for both my overall top artists and my top artists for the last six months, as calculated by last.fm (http://www.last.fm/user/harmonicalesson). I'm just an over-achiever like that sometimes.

1. How did you get into 29?
Overall: Radiohead
I was probably digging around for some really obscure bands and stumbled across them. Pretty lucky, right?
Last 6 Months: Archive
I have this friend who likes to send me stuff.

2. What was the first song you ever heard by 22?
Overall: Silversun Pickups
"Future Foe Scenarios." They have a lot of great songs, but this is still the best of the best.
Last 6 Months: The Dismemberment Plan
I don’t really remember. It might have been "Gyroscope." Whatever it was, it scared me away for awhile. It wasn’t until November 2006 that this band really clicked for me, and the song that did it was "A Life of Possibilities."

3. How many albums by 13 do you own?
Overall: Sufjan Stevens
Er, five, if you include the fact that I have Illinois on both CD and vinyl.
Last 6 Months: Foals
Both Antidotes and Total Life Forever on CD.

4. What is your favorite song by 5?
Overall: Wolf Parade
"I’ll Believe in Anything" is the obvious choice, but most of the time I can’t choose between that one, "Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts," "California Dreamer," and "Cloud Shadow on the Mountain." Yes, I know those are all Spencer songs. Sorry, Dan. I love you, too. Really.
Last 6 Months: Brand New
If I were absolutely forced to pick, I’d probably say "The Archers Bows Have Broken." But I kind of hate this band for how many amazing songs they have to choose between.

5. What is your favorite song by 15?
Overall: The Velvet Teen
"Naked Girl." One of the best driving songs ever.
Last 6 Months: Crystal Castles
How could the answer to this not be the remix of "Not in Love" featuring Robert Smith? It’s so perfect it hurts.

6. Is there a song by 6 that makes you happy?
Overall: Mew
When blasting from my car’s speakers, "Am I Wry? No" makes my heart feel like it’s swelled to twice its normal size. So fucking good.
Last 6 Months: Arcade Fire
"In the Back Seat" reminds me of driving up a narrow, winding mountain road on a very foggy Thanksgiving morning. It doesn’t get much better than that.

7. What is your favorite song by 10?
Overall: Brand New
See #4.
Last 6 Months: Scissor Sisters
"Sex and Violence." Particularly when it immediately follows “Skin Tight,” because the transition between those songs is ridiculously good.

8. What is a good memory you have involving 30?
Overall: Spoon
They were the second band I ever saw live, at my very first concert. They opened with "The Beast and Dragon, Adored." It was an outdoor venue, right at dusk. I was in heaven.
Last 6 Months: Apoptygma Berzerk
I flew to Washington D.C. to see them at the 9:30 Club with my two best friends. Enough said.

9. Is there a song by 19 that makes you happy?
Overall: Stars
"The Night Starts Here" has many really great memories attached to it.
Last 6 Months: Mew
See #6

10. How many times have you seen 26 live?
Overall: Laura Veirs
None. I somehow manage to miss her every time she comes to town. It’s dumb.
Last 6 Months: Beach House
None. Okay, this question made me sad.

11. What is the first song you heard by 23?
Overall: The National
It was probably "Fake Empire," but the first song I ever got really attached to was "Green Gloves."
Last 6 Months: De/Vision
I think I just sat down and listened to Popgefahr, so that means it was "mAndroids." Oh, synthpop.

12. What is your favorite album by 11?
Overall: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
Broom. Pershing was also good, but Let It Sway just made me sad.
Last 6 Months: Yeasayer
"2080" is their best song, but Odd Blood is way too much fun to not be their best album. That’s just the way it is. Luckily, I came to terms with my total lack of hipster credibility a long time ago.

13. Who is your favorite member of 1?
Overall: Sunset Rubdown
Oh, right. Like it could possibly be anyone but Spencer.
Last 6 Months: Ashbury Heights
Oh, right. Like it could possibly be anyone but Anders.

14. Have you ever seen 14 live?
Overall: The Dismemberment Plan
I’m going to cry.
Last 6 Months: The Weakerthans
YES. TWICE. God.

15. What is a good memory involving 27?
Overall: Cut Copy
I saw them live last March and ended up with a 3x2-inch bruise on my leg from jumping up and down and landing on a cupholder.
Last 6 Months: Laura Veirs
Nothing really stands out. She just makes pretty music.

16. What is your favorite song by 16?
Overall: Nada Surf
"Inside of Love." Because I’m a masochist.
Last 6 Months: Modest Mouse
"Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine." Because I hate malls but I like Orange Julius.

17. What is your favorite album by 18?
Overall: Ashbury Heights
Take Cair Paramour. This also happens to be my favorite album of 2010. omg spoilers.
Last 6 Months: The Decemberists
Picaresque will always hold a special place in my heart. However, this band has yet to make an album that I don’t love unreservedly. Er, knock on wood.

18. What is your favorite song by 21?
Overall: Frightened Rabbit
"The Modern Leper"! No contest, in this case.
Last 6 Months: Frightened Rabbit
OMG CREEPY.

19. What is the first song you heard by 25?
Overall: Beirut
No idea. I didn’t really get into them until after seeing them perform live at Amoeba. "Nantes" was the standout that night.
Last 6 Months: Blonde Redhead
There’s a pretty good chance it was "23."

20. What is your favorite album by 2?
Overall: The Decemberists
See #17
Last 6 Months: Pure Reason Revolution
It’s a three-way tie between The Dark Third (UK version), Amor Vincit Omnia, and Hammer and Anvil. And yeah, that’s all three of their albums. :D

21. What is your favorite song by 3?
Overall: Death Cab for Cutie
It’s "Title and Registration." "I Will Follow You into the Dark" can go die in a fire.
Last 6 Months: Sufjan Stevens
As mindblowing as the twenty-five minutes of "Impossible Soul" are, the answer to this question remains "Casimir Pulaski Day." One of the most sad and beautiful songs ever written. When those horns come in, I’m reduced to a useless pile of mush every single time.

22. What is your favorite song by 8?
Overall: Chris Walla
"St. Modesto" single-handedly validated the two whole years I spent waiting for that damn solo album to exist. I'm still bitter that this wasn’t accompanied by a tour. But that’s another story. (Except … seriously, Walla, why haven’t you left Death Cab yet?)
Last 6 Months: The National
Really, really hard to pick. I guess I’ll go with "Conversation 16," though, for the brain-eating.

23. How many times have you seen 17 live?
Overall: Tegan and Sara
Zero!
Last 6 Months: The Morning Benders
Once, last month at the Henry Fonda! They were lovely.

24. What is the worst song by 12?
Overall: Pure Reason Revolution
This band doesn’t make bad songs/albums/anything. But I guess if I were to pick one song from each of their albums that isn’t quite up to par, I’d go with "Voices in Winter," "Disconnect," and "Fight Fire," respectively.
Last 6 Months: Menomena
"West" is a pretty anticlimactic closer to Friend and Foe.

25. What was the first song you heard by 28?
Overall: The New Pornographers
"Sing Me Spanish Techno." It was the title.
Last 6 Months: Broken Social Scene
"7/4 (Shoreline)." I never got into the self-titled album as much as You Forgot It in People, though.

26. What is your favorite album by 7?
Overall: John Vanderslice
It goes Emerald City, then Cellar Door, then Life and Death of an American Fourtracker.
Last 6 Months: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
Baby 81. Because I’m kind of shallow.

27. What is your favorite song by 24?
Overall: Okkervil River
Either "For Real" or "Our Life Is Not a Movie or Maybe."
Last 6 Months: Sunset Rubdown
"The Mending of the Gown" is the band's mission statement, but "The Taming of the Hands That Came Back to Life" has the greatest lyrics of any song by anyone ever. Both songs achieve a whole other level of amazing when performed live. Basically this band should be everyone’s favorite band, dammit.

28. Is there a song by 9 that makes you happy?
Overall: So Many Dynamos
"Search Party." I mean, "hip hip hooray, hip hip replacement"? How can you not smile at that?
Last 6 Months: Wolf Parade
"Grounds for Divorce" is one of those songs that, when played loudly in the car, will fix almost anything.

29. What is your favorite album by 4?
Overall: The Weakerthans
Left and Leaving. I love their next two albums as well, but this one still best exemplifies what they do best (lyrics). And it has "Aside" on it.
Last 6 Months: The Cure
Disintegration. No justification necessary.

30. How many albums do you own by 20?
Overall: Menomena
Two! I bought my copy of I Am the Fun Blame Monster! (in all its flip-book glory) from Brent himself.
Last 6 Months: Arcade Fire
I have Funeral on vinyl and The Suburbs on CD. I lack a physical copy of Neon Bible. This deficit really needs to be rectified.

sufjan stevens @ the wiltern (10/23/10)

2010-10-24T00:12:00.000-07:00

Scribbled notes:
two full drum kits
backup dancers
"The end of the world is a broken heart ... I'm a drama queen."
neon headband
"Age is a social construct."

I really planned on filling this out into a real review, but seriously, what is there to say? I waited four years for this show. I was rewarded with the craziest light show I've ever seen (sorry, Fever Ray) and two solid hours of sonic bliss. Sufjan is a fucking genius.¹ And on top of everything else, it turns out he can dance.

I have nothing else to add. Here's this.

Setlist:

Seven Swans
Too Much
Age of Adz
Heirloom
I Walked
Futile Devices
Vesuvius
Now That I'm Older
Get Real Get Right
Enchanting Ghost
Impossible Soul
Chicago

Encore:
Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois
Casimir Pulaski Day
The Dress Looks Nice on You
John Wayne Gacy, Jr.

mp3: "Casimir Pulaski Day"

¹But he's not fucking around. (Possibly the only disappointment of the night was that I didn't get to hear him swear...)

the national @ the fox theatre (10/16/10)

2010-10-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

Full review: <3 <3 <3

Setlist:

Runaway
Anyone's Ghost
Mistaken for Strangers
Bloodbuzz Ohio
Slow Show
Squalor Victoria
Afraid of Everyone
Available
Conversation 16
Apartment Story
Sorrow
Abel
Daughters of the Soho Riots
England
Fake Empire

Encore:
Mr. November
Terrible Love
About Today
Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks

Owen Pallett opened. He played some older Final Fantasy songs ("The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead," "This Is the Dream of Win & Regine," "Many Lives -> 49 MP"), a few songs from the excellent Heartland ("The Great Elsewhere," "Lewis Takes Action," and "Lewis Takes Off His Shirt"), and also a few songs from his new EP, which I have yet to acquire. Good stuff all around.

frightened rabbit @ the mayan theatre (10/13/10)

2010-10-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

Between the acoustic performances of "Good Arms vs. Bad Arms" and "Poke" (the latter of which took place three feet in front of me, sans microphone), the ridiculous banter, and the giant fucking disco ball that descended from the ceiling for "The Twist," this was pretty much the best show I've seen all year. I love this band so much.

Setlist:

Things
The Modern Leper
Nothing Like You
Old Old Fashioned
Swim Until You Can't See Land
The Wrestle
I Feel Better
Fast Blood
Backwards Walk
Not Miserable
Head Rolls Off
Be Less Rude
Good Arms vs. Bad Arms
Yes, I Would
Living in Colour
Keep Yourself Warm

Encore:
Poke
The Twist
The Loneliness and the Scream

mix: are you restless like me?

2010-09-12T12:25:00.001-07:00

This pretty much speaks for itself, I think.

Songs:

1. Ashbury Heights - "Spiders" [5:25]
2. Against Me! - "Up the Cuts" [2:53]
3. Mumford & Sons - "Little Lion Man" [4:07]
4. Wild Nothing - "My Angel Lonely" [2:58]
5. Scissor Sisters - "Sex and Violence" [4:11]
6. Blonde Redhead - "Not Getting There" [2:46]
7. Sufjan Stevens - "I Walked" [5:00]
8. Glasser - "Home" [3:34]
9. The Radio Dept. - "Domestic Scene" [2:25]
10. Arcade Fire - "Keep the Car Running" [3:29]
11. We Were Promised Jetpacks - "Roll Up Your Sleeves" [4:17]
12. Silversun Pickups - "Comeback Kid" [4:10]
13. Wolf Parade - "Disco Sheets" [3:01]
14. Crystal Castles - "Baptism" [3:28]
15. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - "Berlin" [3:11]
16. The Cure - "Maybe Someday" [5:05]
17. Spiritualized - "Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space" [3:41]

Download: here.

scissor sisters @ amoeba (9/8/10)

2010-09-08T22:34:00.000-07:00

Setlist:

Any Which Way
Laura
Whole New Way
Take Your Mama
Running Out
Comfortably Numb
I Don't Feel Like Dancin'

I love Amoeba. I love synthpop. I love bands who have a sense of humor. So this was win/win/win.

I'll admit to being a little surprised by the set list, though. Most of the in-store performances I've seen have focused almost exclusively on the band's most-recently released album. Scissor Sisters actually opted to play mostly older material, including the epic Pink Floyd cover on their first album, introduced: "Here's a song we didn't write. It was written by some old white guys."

Despite the fact that I didn't get to hear my favorite song from Night Work ("Sex and Violence"), I find it impossible to quibble given how great the band's energy was overall. This, despite the fact that Mr. Shears professed to having a cold. You couldn't tell by listening to him. That falsetto is the real thing, people.

mp3: "Any Which Way"

silversun pickups @ soma (8/7/10)

2010-08-08T11:34:00.000-07:00

This show was fucking amazing. If only every band had as much talent and energy and camaraderie with their fans as this band.

Setlist:

Growing Old Is Getting Old
Well Thought Out Twinkles
Sort Of
There's No Secrets This Year
The Royal We
Little Lover's So Polite
It's Nice to Know You Work Alone
Future Foe Scenarios
Kissing Families
Catch and Release
Panic Switch
Lazy Eye

Encore:
Substitution
Three Seed
Common Reactor

mp3: "Future Foe Scenarios"

wolf parade @ the wiltern (7/31/10)

2010-08-01T07:00:00.001-07:00

Dear Wiltern, fire your sound engineer immediately. One of my favorite bands played on your stage last night and I couldn't hear a word any of them said, spoken or sung. In fact, at times, I couldn't hear anything but Dan Boeckner's guitar. That was consistently loud and clear.

Ideally, I'd go back in time and experience an adjusted version of this show all over again. But since that's not possible, I guess I'm going to have to make an effort to look at the bright sides.

Setlist:

What Did My Lover Say? (It Always Had to Go This Way)
Language City
Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts
Palm Road
Oh You, Old Thing
Ghost Pressure
This Heart's on Fire
I'll Believe in Anything
Fine Young Cannibals
Cloud Shadow on the Mountain
Pobody's Nerfect
California Dreamer

Encore:
You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son
Shine a Light
Kissing the Beehive

...the main bright side being, of course, that Spencer Krug was there, and no night is completely lost as long as I'm allowed to stand ten feet away from that man -- excuse me, god -- and watch his death-defying stool balancing act.

It's also lucky that Wolf Parade's songs are just, like, really good. That statement may merit another "really" or two. Even with mostly-inaudible vocals, songs from the new album like "Ghost Pressure" and "Cloud Shadow on the Mountain," along with older favorites such as "Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts" and "I'll Believe in Anything," rocked undeniably hard. Perhaps best of all and most appropriately, "California Dreamer" acted as the finale to the main set. And oh, it was grand.

The one irredeemably wretched moment of the evening, for me, came during the encore -- "Shine a Light" was all but unrecognizable. And that's one of my favorite songs. But what can you do?

All in all, though, it was a good night. I'll be looking forward to the next time Sunset Rubdown comes to town.

mp3: "I'll Believe in Anything" (from Apologies to the Queen Mary)
mp3: "Ghost Pressure" (from Expo 86)

best of 1/2 of 2010

2010-06-14T18:32:00.000-07:00

top five!

In alphabetical order...

Expo 86 by Wolf Parade
It's Spencer. Do I really need to say anything else? Expo 86 may not be as strong as their previous releases, but look at where the bar is set, people. If nothing else, the album-opening track could be the band's single greatest accomplishment. It's certainly the song of the year.
mp3: "Cloud Shadow on the Mountain"

High Violet by The National
Matt Berninger's baritone. Lyrics about eating brains. Other assorted prettiness. This album initially disappointed me, then grew on me, and now I can't remember how I lived without it.
mp3: "Conversation 16"

Mines by Menomena
Looser and prettier and possibly weirder than Friend and Foe. Not better. But definitely looser and prettier and possibly weirder. I have no further comment at this time.
mp3: "Killemall"

Popgefahr by De/Vision
This album shouldn't work as well as it does. I occasionally feel guilty about how much I enjoy it, until I remember that that's a complete waste of time. Basically, remember when Depeche Mode was good? Enjoy.
mp3: "Twisted Story"

Total Life Forever by Foals
I didn't even know Foals were releasing a new album. This is, therefore, the single greatest surprise of the year so far. It is pretty much mind-blowingly good. Do yourself a favor and turn this song up really loud in your car.
mp3: "Miami"

Honorable mention to albums by Beach House, Broken Social Scene, The Golden Filter, The Morning Benders, and Owen Pallett.

Disappointed sad faces at Los Campesinos!, Shearwater, Shout Out Louds, and Tokyo Police Club.

Yay? Yay.

random mix!

2010-03-27T13:16:00.000-07:00

This mix exists because the first four songs came up on shuffle, in this order, one morning when I was brushing my teeth. I'm beginning to regard my iPod as a sort of oracle.

Track listing/individual mp3s:

1. "One Step Inside Doesn't Mean You Understand" by The Notwist [3:15]
2. "There Goes the Fear" by Doves [6:54]
3. "Mouthful of Diamonds" by Phantogram [4:13]
4. "Asleep or Awake?" by Apoptygma Berzerk [3:40]
5. "Red Sun No. 5" by Owen Pallett [3:41]
6. "On Melancholy Hill" by Gorillaz [3:48]
7. "In the Mirror" by Nada Surf [3:42]
8. "And This Is What We Call Progress" by The Besnard Lakes [5:11]
9. "Short Bursts (EP Version)" by We Were Promised Jetpacks [3:37]
10. "Hand Me Downs" by The Morning Benders [3:46]
11. "Sleeper in the Valley" by Laura Veirs [4:03]
12. "Madder Red" by Yeasayer [4:04]
13. "It Breaks" by Tunng [3:29]
14. "Not the Sun" by Brand New [3:10]
15. "Sometimes Life Isn't Easy" by Mew [5:21]
16. "Silver Moons" by Sunset Rubdown [4:45]

Or, if you prefer, a behemoth .zip file: here.

2009 in review

2010-01-10T06:05:00.000-08:00

I couldn't be bothered with punctuality or write-ups or images this year. Sorry.

ten favorite songs
(mp3s! hooray!)

10. "Daniel" by Bat for Lashes
9. "Heart Skipped a Beat" by The xx
8. "Gold Guns Girls" by Metric
7. "Where There Is Light" by VNV Nation
6. "Young Adult Friction" by The Pains of Being Pure at Heart
5. "Lisztomania" by Phoenix
4. "Quiet Little Voices" by We Were Promised Jetpacks
3. "Growing Old Is Getting Old" by Silversun Pickups
2. "Apollo and the Buffalo and Anna Anna Anna Oh!" by Sunset Rubdown
1. "Deus Ex Machina" by Pure Reason Revolution

twelve favorite albums
(Because music > math.)

12. The Loud Wars by So Many Dynamos
11. Daisy by Brand New
10. Fever Ray by Fever Ray
9. Other Lives by Other Lives
8. Hometowns by The Rural Alberta Advantage
7. No More Stories... by Mew
6. Intuit by Ramona Falls
5. Controlling Crowds (Pts. I-IV) by Archive
4. Swoon by Silversun Pickups
3. Hazards of Love by The Decemberists
2. Amor Vincit Omnia by Pure Reason Revolution
1. Dragonslayer by Sunset Rubdown

five favorite shows
(All occurred in Los Angeles except for that one. Total shows attended = 21.5)

The Decemberists @ the Hollywood Palladium (May 19)
Sunset Rubdown @ the Echoplex (June 23)
The Weakerthans @ the Roxy (July 22)
Apoptygma Berzerk @ the 9:30 Club (Washington D.C., September 2)
Mew @ the Henry Fonda (December 14)

mew @ the henry fonda (12/14/09)

2009-12-15T00:22:00.000-08:00

Hawaii
Circuitry of the Wolf/Chinaberry Tree
Am I Wry? No
156
Introducing Palace Players
Beach
Sometimes Life Isn't Easy
New Terrain/Nervous (piano version)
She Came Home for Christmas (piano version)
Special/The Zookeeper's Boy
Silas the Magic Car
Apocalypso/Saviours of Jazz Ballet

Encore:
Repeaterbeater
Snow Brigade
Louise Louisa

album night (work in progress)

2009-11-01T07:03:00.000-08:00

The Decemberists - Hazards of Love [2009]
Sunset Rubdown - Dragonslayer [2009]
Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway [1974]
Apoptygma Berzerk - Harmonizer [2002]
Blaqk Audio - CexCells [2007]
Pure Reason Revolution - Amor Vincit Omnia [2009]
Of Montreal - Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? [2007]
Silversun Pickups - Carnavas [2006]
Brand New - Daisy [2009]
AFI - Sing the Sorrow [2003]
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King [1969]
Hood - Cold House [2001]
AFI - Crash Love [2009]
Vitalic - Flashmob [2009]
Underworld - Dubnobasswithmyheadman [1993]
Espers - Espers III [2009]
The Notwist - Neon Golden [2002]
Jethro Tull - Thick as a Brick [1972]
The Moody Blues - To Our Children's Children's Children [1969]
Archive - Controlling Crowds, Part IV [2009]
Arcade Fire - Funeral [2004]
The Stone Roses - The Stone Roses [1989]
The Rosebuds - Night of the Furies [2007]
The Cure - Disintegration [1989]
The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead [1986]
Wolf Parade - Apologies to the Queen Mary [2005]
Radiohead - OK Computer [1997]
VNV Nation - Empires [1999]
Pink Floyd - Animals [1977]
The Beatles - Abbey Road [1969]
Cut Copy - In Ghost Colours [2008]
Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel III [1980]
Brand New - Deja Entendu [2003]
Joy Division - Closer [1980]
Mew - Frengers [2003]
Ashbury Heights - Three Cheers for the Newlydeads [2007]
The Prairie Cartel - Where Did All My People Go [2009]
Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea [1998]
Oingo Boingo - Only a Lad [1981]
Moonface - Dreamland EP [2010]
Talking Heads - Remain in Light [1980]
The Delta Mirror - Machines That Listen [2008]
Pnau - Pnau [2007]
Sufjan Stevens - Illinois [2005]
Wolf Parade - Expo 86 [2010]
Foals - Total Life Forever [2010]
The Touch Artists - Bishop Peebles' Haunted Castle [2010]
Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix [2009]
Ashbury Heights - Take Cair Paramour [2010]
Sufjan Stevens - All Delighted People EP [2010]
Underworld - Barking [2010]
Cut Copy - Zonoscope [2011]
Scissor Sisters - Night Work [2010]

sunset rubdown @ the troubadour (10/27/09)

2009-10-28T05:37:00.000-07:00

Set list:

Insane Love Is Awakening
You Go On Ahead
Black Swan
The Taming of the Hands That Came Back to Life
Silver Moons
The Empty Threats of Little Lord
Idiot Heart
Coming To at Dawn
The Men Are Called Horsemen There
The Mending of the Gown
Dragon's Lair

Encore:
Trumpet, Trumpet, Toot! Toot!
Us Ones in Between