Modern Classics of the City

I have not written anything too positive about modern music. The last positive article I wrote was about a band who hasn’t recorded anything since 1998. You all ought to know that I love modern music and listen to new releases as often as possible. There is tons of new music out there I enjoy. I already have an “end-of-year” list developing for my favorite albums of 2014. Sun Kil Moon’s “Benji” in particular has already been growing on me, even to the point that it might join the league of Modern Classics.

What is a Modern Classic, you ask? Some albums may die on you over time. Modern Classics are recent releases that are enjoyed to the point where they can never die. They’re arguably “perfect.” I have a good list of about 20 albums from this new decade that I feel to be important releases. For the sake of article length, I shall condense. In no particular order, here’s the best of the best: The Modern Classics.

-- “This Is Happening,” LCD Soundsystem, 2010

This is what fun sounds like. James Murphy recorded “All My Friends,” my personal favorite song ever, back in 2007. I figured his band could only digress from there but they simply plateaued at the mountain’s peak. “This Is Happening” is kinky, colorful dance record anybody can enjoy. As for music historians like myself, hearing this blend of 70s experimental influences is ear candy. The songs are lengthy, dynamic, carefully structured, lyrically golden. Try “Dance Yrself Clean.” 

 -- “Kaputt,” Destroyer, 2011

Dan Bejar has always written lyrics that are- um- weird. On “Kaputt” we get his unexpected emotional side. We hear him sing “I want you to love me” like it’s a math equation and “Your Jesuit profile will suit the upcoming apocalypse” on the verge of tears. Yet the music is the best part! It’s the amplified sounds of 80s soft rock and disco, blended with electronica and smooth jazz, brass instruments included. Try the album’s title track.

-- “Modern Vampires of the City,” Vampire Weekend, 2013

Yes, Ezra Koenig has perfect hair. Unfortunately ladies, he’s not in it for the girls. “Modern Vampires” is an album about rediscovering yourself as a full-grown adult. Koenig goes over girls he dated 10 years ago, fear of death, his love for New York and his current relationship with God. The album sounds like it was recorded in an old cathedral. Vampire Weekend have always been bright, cheeky and fun. “Modern Vampires” is murky, mature and mischievous. Try “Step.”

-- “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy,” Kanye West, 2010

I hate Kanye West. However, the guy’s music is pretty darn good. I’ve heard lots of big albums in my time. “Twisted Fantasy” is huge. Long winded, perhaps, but thematic and energetic. The album has a lot of star power and loud production, but somehow it comes off as bleak and personal. Try “POWER,” a song worthy of its all-caps title.

-- “Bon Iver,” Bon Iver, 2011

Some people find Bon Iver boring. Remember the words of Russell from Disney’s “Up.” “I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember most.” This album is a step into a new (and sometimes boring) world, buried under snow. Listen for the hidden sounds of crackling ice throughout the album. Justin Vernon’s voice has become one of the most distinct of this generation. Full of soul, yet with an impressively broad vocabulary. Try “Holocene.”

-- “Teen Dream,” Beach House, 2010

Did I say these were listed in no order? These last two are my two favorites. Beach House is often classified as “dream pop.” Front-to-back, track-by-track, “Teen Dream” is the soundtrack of a vivid, emotionally draining dream. Victoria Legrand’s voice is full of mystery and raw passion. It tries to break through the album’s smoky production, hitting every note possible and singing basic words slowly and mystically. The shoegaze guitars and colorful percussion give life to the slowness of the songs. Try “Silver Soul.”

-- “Good Kid, M.A.A.D City,” Kendrick Lamar, 2012

Speaking of “Silver Soul,” Kendrick Lamar would sample that song for his track “Money Trees” two years later. People- I adore this album. Its tracks abridged by answering machine messages, the album tells a story of a day in the life of Kendrick at age 17, borrowing his mom’s van to roll out with some homies in the ghetto of Compton. It goes to dark places. It goes to fun places. It’s possibly the most personal rap album ever made. Each track is a surprising experimental curveball yet still manages to sound like classic west coast hip-hop. Try “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst.”

“Frozen” melts our hearts and rules the charts

“Frozen” melts our hearts and rules the charts

As I write this, the “Frozen” motion picture soundtrack is spending its ninth week atop the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart.

I already knew the music of “Frozen” has become annoyingly popular, but its chart performance is ridiculously successful. Nine weeks at No. 1 is a rare achievement. It’s the third-longest time an album has stayed at No. 1 in the last 10 years. The “Frozen” soundtrack is legitimately making commercial music history. Ought we be impressed or worried?

Let’s use this statistic to pinpoint where the music world and music industry are today. The only other albums to break the eight-week No. 1 barrier in the last 10 years are Usher’s “Confessions,” Taylor Swift’s “Fearless” and Adele’s “21.” It’s 2014 and the album chart is no longer conquered by a pop star or an R&B crooner, but a soundtrack to a kiddie movie. For the record, the Billboard album chart has never been consistently ruled by specific genres. “Frozen’s” reign at No. 1 has been going on and off for three months with temporary interruptions from country and rap releases. It’s always a weekly toss-up. Yet somehow, no matter what hot new music pops up, people keep buying “Frozen.”

In response to the question I posed earlier, we shouldn’t be worried. I just wonder why the radio music world can’t step up in a time like this. Not like I care much, nor am I critiquing the quality of popular music. I’m talking record sales, baby. Apparently singing snowmen and ice princesses make better business strategies than Pharrell and Katy Perry.

The music industry has always been a warped place. I have almost zero faith in “rags-to-riches” myth of pop stardom. “Started From The Bottom” is a great principle, but I’ve seen the bottom, and that totally isn’t where Drake came from. “Frozen” isn’t just a kid’s movie; it’s a Disney movie. It’s the first Disney movie in years to produce a tune as catchy as “Let It Go,” which happens to be a really big deal. Everybody loves it when their favorite artist returns to making good music. Despite its mediocre soundtrack, “Frozen” is selling because it’s the best we’ve heard from Disney in a long time. Also, the most recognized pop artists usually don’t come out with their big releases early on in the year. Thus, January is usually ruled by some adult contemporary holiday album. Now it’s April, and the winter time album is still in charge. “Beware the frozen heart.”

Pop stars don’t make albums; they make singles. Nobody actually listens to entire albums front-to-back. People download a few songs online. Pharrell, Jason Derulo and Katy Perry are alive and well in the Billboard singles chart. “Frozen” is outselling their albums because people who’ve seen the movie already know what the whole album will sound like. A few songs into Katy Perry’s “Prism” and people start searching for a “Fixer Upper” — yes, that pun was intended. Let it also be known that Beyonce’s latest album was released without any promotion and yet it spent three weeks at No. 1 because it had more than one memorable song. If not from Disney, the pop music world could at least learn a thing or two from Beyonce: Stop recording deadweight tracks and stop promoting your music so generically.

If you think the music of “Frozen” is popular simply because it’s happy and family friendly, you’re wrong. The timing of its release and the dough gone into its production is a manipulative money-making mixture. The fact that the music is happy and family friendly is the golden cherry on top. Much like the evil prince Hans from the movie, “Frozen” has been plotting to take over the charts while the rest of pop music royalty are wasting their time waiting for winter to end. Sales-wise, it looks like winter is here to stay — at least until Adele and Taylor Swift unfreeze each others’ hearts with an act of true love. Then they make a duet album on an independent label, and airplay promoters will live happily ever after.

Neutral Milk Hotel in SLC: They still got it!

90’s indie rock legends Neutral Milk Hotel hit up Salt Lake City as part of their first tour in nearly 15 years last week. And might I add, it was freaking awesome.

Here’s a brief history lesson: Neutral Milk Hotel hasn’t recorded anything since 1998. They made some excellent lo-fi music throughout the 1990’s. Their 1998 album “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” has been hailed by many critics, myself included, as a classic. All their songs are written by singer/guitarist Jeff Mangum and most songs incorporate WWI-era European instrumentation. The band’s lyrical themes are mystical and memorable. Although they broke up over a decade ago, this Georgia-based band has developed a cult following that has only grown for all these years. I am honored to have attended their concert at The Depot in SLC last week.

No photos were allowed at the show, at the band’s request. I’ll have to take you there with words. Mangum stood onstage in a ball cap and an ugly brown sweater that he probably picked up at a thrift shop. His facial hair was a cross between a “Duck Dynasty” character and an unhygienic mountain hermit. Horns player Scott Spillane had a white Santa Claus beard as well as a Santa Claus body-type and the energy of a kindergartner. Multi-instrumentalist Julian Koster looked like an overly-pale, skinny teenager wearing an embarrassing stocking cap. Judging solely on their appearance, I was convinced the band members were poorer than the audience members.

They played a 19-song set, covering over half the songs they’ve ever recorded and turning the concert into a 90-minute singalong show for the audience. One does not simply “like” Neutral Milk Hotel. You love them or hate them. I was singing “Two-Headed Boy” at the top of my lungs and decided not to sing the last verse, savoring the goosebump moment of hearing it come from Mangum himself. I was close to tears as he played “Two-Headed Boy Pt. 2” and I realized the show was going to end soon. Considering my friends and I were 10 feet away from Mangum for the entire show, this was a magical experience.

Part of Neutral’s genius is the mysterious noises in their songs. As I witnessed with my own eyes, these noises are apparently made by Koster playing a banjo with a violin bow and sometimes playing this crazy instrument called a singing saw. I believe there was also a point in the show where he was clanking a bell with a frying pan lid. The horns section added on to the awesomeness and obscurity of the show. I never knew was there such thing as an electric saxophone, but it’s cool and it sounds like a bagpipe. The moment I first heard Spillane’s flugelhorn after “King of Carrot Flowers” I knew it was going to be a great night.

I’m sure the audience didn’t mind when my friends and I swayed back-in-forth, shoulder-to-shoulder to “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea,” although the chick standing next to me wouldn’t join us. I’m sure the audience didn’t mind me singing the totally incorrect lyrics to “Song Against Sex” and impersonating the trombone part at maximum volume. I’m sure the audience didn’t mind me requesting the band to play “Where You’ll Find Me Now,” which I knew they wouldn’t play but was worth yelling over. The audience didn’t mind because this was a concert and everyone’s allowed to act stupid.

Neutral Milk Hotel is an important, influential, unexplainable piece of music history that cannot be compared to other bands. I can’t say they stand supreme, but they definitely stand alone. Mangum’s voice is the voice of a man without a stomach. The guitars are distorted and droning. The horns are celebratory. The rhythms range from punk rock to military marches. The lyrics tell fascinating stories. Collectively, it’s a band making the most awkwardly beautiful music their budget can allow, capturing the most awkward and melancholia moments of adolescence. After years apart from each other, it’s amazing to see that they still got it. An excellent performance. I recorded them playing “Holland, 1945” to preserve the memory. I left that concert impressed by the band and feeling emotionally complete.