Miike Snow's Andrew Wyatt at Popscene.
Last Christmas, my friend Gwen gave me Dave Thompson’s book “I Hate New Music,” his chucklicious classic rock manifesto. It was a half-joke – after all, it was me who first played the Calvin Harris remix of The Ting Tings’ “Great DJ” for our group of friends.
On the other hand, were you to check out the recently played list on my iPod, you’d see Frank Marino and Mahogany Rush. Mustache-and-robe rock. Prog rock. Foghat if you were LUCKY.
But being unemployed all year this year allowed me a lot of time to really reconnect to the world of contemporary music. Being able to listen to KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic five days a week helped … a LOT.
And what did I find the kids are listening to these days? (Cue spit take.) Prog rock?!
Well, not all of it. Obviously, there’s a bunch of fun dancey pop to be had, and I found myself drawn to it for reasons I don’t fully grasp.
But yes, I remember distinctly two moments at the Treasure Island Music Festival, where many of the bands I was casually interested in were appearing. First, the bass player from Grizzly Bear pulled out the same model bass that Chris Squire from Yes and Geddy Lee of Rush used in the ’70s. Second, the realization that, three songs into their set, The Decemberists were going to play their entire new album. A CONCEPT album, no less.
So without further adieu, my favorite musics of the year.
The Decemberists – The Hazards of Love
This album is nothing short of a revelation for me. Before I heard it, I simply would have not believed it possible. In truth, The Decemberists and some of their alt/indie peers have been flirting with elements of progressive rock for a couple of years, as they naturally test the limits of their form and themselves.
But where comparisons of “The Crane Wife” to Jethro Tull were a bit premature, to place this record next to “Thick as a Brick” or even Pink Floyd’s “The Wall,” as shocking as that is, makes sense. In the prog-rock continuum, this is easily the most compelling concept album since Marillion’s “Clutching at Straws” more than 20 years ago, and has appropriately taken that record’s place as my drunken late night indulgence.
I had a hard time picking one track from “The Hazards of Love,” since it works best as a whole. But I think this one sums up the shocking nature of this record. The band rocks harder than in previous releases, and here they channel (I shit you not) Deep Purple, with Jenny Conlee throwing in a Jon Lord-esque organ fill!
Grizzly Bear – Veckatimest
Grizzly Bear isn’t so much prog rock as they are art rock, and they don’t look backwards to the same influences as The Decemberists. But all the same, I’m both surprised and grateful that they exist.
This track, a version of the single “While You Wait for the Others,” with Michael McDonald (!) guesting on vocals isn’t even on “Veckatimest,” and might be misconstrued as a stunt. But it’s good, check it out.
Miike Snow – Miike Snow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnD9CrsZeOE
Why on earth do I love this record so much? I mean, I DID intend to challenge myself this year, but these guys produced BRITNEY, for god’s sake! And “Silvia” is like an ’09 version of a-ha, supercharged with Autotune!
I just have blinding white memories of hearing this song for the first time on the stoop of my apartment, and it was just so insufferably pretty and the sun was out and I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry or shit. Same thing happened on the sunny afternoon of my friends’ wedding.
And I think that’s why I listen to music.
Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BJDNw7o6so
More frothy pop, this time a French souffle. I remember Phoenix from the “Lost in Translation” soundtrack, where their enthusiasm stuck out.
They keep that feel going on their new one, and yes, you’ve heard them on that car commercial. Don’t hate.
Passion Pit – Manners
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5i3yQ_zeT8
Sure, with their ridiculously high-pitched vocals, these guys sound as enthusiastic as Phoenix. But I don’t know if I’m reading into it or what, but there seems to be something melancholic under there.
This one’s not one of the better-known ones from “Manners,” but it’s my current favorite. I just love the line: “Nobody knows you the way you know you/But I think I do/Well, I thought I knew/Yeah, I thought I knew”.
