Fluxblog Weekly #52: Wire, Paul Simon, The Scary Jokes, Thao, Prince
I'm still in a weird daze about Prince's death, as you likely are too. I may or may not write about him in the coming days/weeks, but in the meantime, I recommend listening to this incredible live recording of him playing a long, absurdly hit-packed concert in Detroit last year. He was perfect up til the very end. Download it while you can! Also, I've included my post about "U Got the Look" and going to see Prince live in 2010 at the end of this email.
April 18th, 2016
The Queue Of Future Has-Beens
Wire “Internal Exile”
Colin Newman’s voice has a cold and emotionally sterile affect, and it makes pretty much every Wire song feel distant and vaguely cruel. Even when he’s expressing empathy, he sounds as though he must keep a distance, as though he’s concerned about becoming infected by your feelings and misfortunes. “Internal Exile” may be an empathetic song, but it’s slightly unclear – it’s just as easy to interpret this as an indictment of people stuck in drab, boring lives as it is an expression of solidarity with everyone crushed and alienated by capitalist institutions. Newman’s sings the song like an inscrutable deity, with each line right on the edge of pity and indifference. The music isn’t much warmer, but there’s a touch of sentimentality in the lead parts, particularly a synth horn part that gestures in the direction of joy and triumph, but is undermined by its obvious artifice.
Buy it from Amazon.
April 19th, 2016
My Heart Beats Like A Fist
Paul Simon “Wristband”
“Wristband” starts off as a joke about a rock musician stepping out for a smoke but getting locked out of a venue, and trying and failing to get back in despite being a headliner. But that’s just the jumping-off point, as Simon’s character reckons with losing his privilege even just for a few minutes, and then snaps back into proper perspective by imagining all the “homeless and the lowly” who will never get that metaphorical wristband granting them access to wealth, success, and comfort. Simon’s voice is relaxed but sardonic, and the groove is funky but a bit busy and vaguely agitated. He gets just the right balance of lightness, aggravation, and introspection, which is pretty key for a song like this – knock it too much in any direction, and I think the sentiment might become ridiculous or kinda douchey.
Buy it from Amazon.
April 20th, 2016
I Want To Destroy Everything That’s Mine
The Scary Jokes “Catabolic Seed”
The Scary Jokes’ Liz Lehman reminds me of a young Kevin Barnes with her seemingly effortless gift for melody, tendency of tying her songs together into long suites, and focus on writing about her emotional state with great precision and a high level of self-awareness. Like Barnes, Lehman’s lyrics have this cutting critical tone, whether she’s writing about herself, or her feelings about someone else. I like the way this contrasts with the girlish timbre of her voice, and suggests that you’re listening to the musical equivalent of an unusually eloquent teenage diary. “Catabolic Seed” is essentially about trying to pull yourself together after getting rejected by a crush, feeling frustrated by chasing fantasies, and just having poor luck in general. But Lehman’s words dig a bit deeper than that, and tip back and forth between self-loathing and reasonably decent self-esteem. You can hear that tension in the music too, as the colorful keyboard tones and the crisp snap of the beat suggest an assertive quality that is at odds with – but does not undermine – the self-crimination in the lyrics.
Buy it from Bandcamp.
April 21st, 2016
Mighty Man Of War
Thao and the Get Down Stay Down “Fool Forever”
Merrill Garbus of Tune-Yards produced the new Thao record, and it’s very obvious, as her aesthetic is all over it – the emphasis on bass and percussion, the ever-shifting planes of musical texture, little eruptions of noise, a slightly feral quality to the performances. Thao Nguyen doesn’t totally surrender herself to Garbus’ sound, but she seems very home within it, sharpening her songwriting and moving her vocal performance into more aggressive and nakedly expressive territory. “Fool Forever,” one of the best tracks on the record, is built on a reggae-translated-into-punk groove that reminds me a lot of The Clash’s “Guns of Brixton,” but when the chorus hits, it abruptly shifts into a sound that’s simultaneously much lighter and far more abrasive. Even having heard this song many times in the past couple months, it always feels a bit sudden and exciting, like this sudden cathartic moment from out of nowhere.
Buy it from Amazon.
December 20th, 2010
The Dream We All Dream Of
Prince @ Madison Square Garden 12/18/2010
Welcome 2 America / Dance (Disco Heat) / Baby, I’m A Star / The Beautiful Ones / Let’s Go Crazy / Delirious / Let’s Go Crazy (reprise) / 1999 / Shhh / Uptown / Raspberry Beret / Cream / Cool / Let’s Work / U Got the Look (with Sheila E) / The Glamorous Life (with Sheila E) / Nothing Compares 2 U / Purple Rain // Kiss /// A Love Bizarre (with Sheila E and a cavalcade of dancing celebrities.)
This was my first time seeing Prince in concert, and the show was as close to a best case scenario as I could have hoped for. As you can see, it was a two hour hit parade focused on material from 1980 through 1987, the period when he was an untouchable pop genius. His creative peak may be behind him, but he remains an absolutely brilliant performer. He has a high level of energy, craft, and pure showmanship, but beyond that, he is possessed of a superhuman charisma that is captivating even from up in the cheap seats. A lot of the time I was just standing there in awe of his presence, and the seeming effortlessness of his performance. The moment that stands out in my memory is so simple, but so iconic — I remember looking up at the big screen, in tight close up on his face as he did one of his famous impish smirks. I feel like this experience was mostly about simply bearing witness to Prince, and that was like the pinnacle of Prince-ness.
Prince played my all-time favorite Prince song at this show, and so let’s talk about that one.
Prince “U Got the Look”
“U Got the Look” is, for me, the platonic ideal of a Prince song. It’s blends elements from funk, new wave, and rock so seamlessly that it stands apart from other genres, it’s really just Prince music. Every sound in the track is vibrant and crackling with energy, like a transmission from some better, sexier world. It’s an extremely playful song, full of charming lyrics that set the highest standard for flirtation in the context of a pop song, or quite possibly the context of anything at all. It’s an ideal balance of flattery, sweetness, humor, and overt sexuality. You get silly voices, you get sexually charged vocal interaction, you get the ridiculous, wonderful concept of the World Series of Love. My favorite part is probably when he catches himself in a contradiction and offers a retraction: “My face is red, I stand corrected!” Everything about the song is fun. It’s inspiring that way. It makes you want to shed all insecurity and be as confident and funny and smooth as Prince. It makes you realize that it really can be as simple as “if love is good, then let’s get 2 rammin’.” Truly, this song is the dream we all dream of.
Buy it from Amazon.