Fluxblog Weekly #81: Elvis Costello, Sun Ra, A$AP Mob, Really Big Pinecone, Duck
I started this week by going to see Elvis Costello perform for the first time, which is a bit strange since I've been a fan of him since I was a teenager and he tours constantly. But I guess holding out worked out for me, since I got to see him play a show with The Impostors – basically The Attractions with a different bass player and a couple backup singers – play a set that was almost entirely comprised of music from his golden era of 1977 through 1983, with a focus on Imperial Bedroom. I didn't write about the show, but I am including an old post from 2011 about "Beyond Belief" with this issue of the newsletter. It's one of the best songs I know, and I think this is one of my best posts in the nearly 15 year history of Fluxblog.
July 6th, 2011
Charged With Insults And Flattery
Elvis Costello “Beyond Belief”
The lyrics of “Beyond Belief” undoubtedly rank among the finest ever penned for a rock song; Costello’s words are so finely chosen and edited that a novel’s worth of character and nuance gracefully unfold in just over a couple minutes. It’s a miracle of lyrical economy and precision. I’ve been obsessing over this song for a few weeks, replaying it incessantly and alternately dissecting lines and taking in the seedy, desperate ambiance of the music.
Costello’s pick-up artist is bereft of soul but he’s not a shallow caricature – more than anything, he seems bored senseless by the empty ritual of his predatory routine. The intensity of his self-loathing has totally soured whatever pleasure he gets from scoring with these women. The pick-up is equally ruthless and half-hearted; he’s distracted during the actual sex act.
One of the most stunning aspects of Costello’s composition is that when the sex arrives in this narrative, the pace suddenly picks up and the sound builds to a brief, frantic peak. In a clever turn, all of the singer’s metaphors contain vaginal imagery – fault lines, vaults, canals. But he’s so lost in his angst and self-awareness that he seems even more alone. His voice changes in this section: more pinched, more hollow. The treble in the arrangement surges and then climaxes: “I come to you beyond belief.” Climax, come. You get the idea.
The song shifts back into its primary mode. It’s like snapping back into reality. After that night’s “Alice” is discarded, the character takes in the scene for a moment before getting sucked back into his head. The chorus finally comes at the end and repeats into fade-out, suggesting an endless loop. That’s when you get a sense of consequence. This time the phrase “beyond belief” takes a slightly different meaning: “Once this seemed so appealing, now I am beyond belief.” It could be the low moment that inspires him to change. Or he could just loop back to the start: “History repeats the old conceits.”
Buy it from Amazon.
This next post was written on the morning after Donald Trump won the presidency. Like many other people, I was despondent and in a state of shock. I still am, though the shock has worn off a bit. I decided to write about one of the most peaceful songs I've ever heard, by Sun Ra and his Arkestra.
November 9th, 2016
Without Prince Charming
Sun Ra and His Intergalactic Myth Science Solar Arkestra “Sleeping Beauty”
“Sleeping Beauty” isn’t quite like any other piece of music I’ve ever encountered. It sounds like moonlight, and feels like floating outside of yourself. It moves at a very languid pace over the course of 12 minutes between sections led by Sun Ra’s electric piano that feel weightless and serene and other parts focused on the horn section that suggest a sort of spacey grandeur that has somehow manifested itself on earth. The recording sounds as though it was largely improvised in the middle of the night, and I love how some parts can feel a bit tentative while others, like a lot of the vocal parts led by June Tyson, are like moments of genuine inspiration. This is an extraordinarily calm piece of music, and even in the context of Sun Ra’s larger discography of music aiming for transcendental cosmic experiences, it stands out as a window to some better, more beautiful world. Its existence feels like a miracle to me.
Buy it from Amazon.
And here's a few regular posts with new songs.
November 6th, 2016
Nothing Over, Nothing Less
A$AP Mob featuring A$AP Rocky and Skepta “Put That On My Set”
There’s a lot going on in this Lil Awree-produced track but it still somehow feels very stark and minimal, like this chilly, cloudy haze engulfing A$AP Rocky and Skepta’s verses. You notice the atmosphere more than anything – that faint sax, the distant echoes of voices – but the song clicks together around a melodic keyboard part that’s so subtle I didn’t even realize it was there the first several times I heard this. (I think it’s a harpsichord setting?) The melody is mirror by Rocky and Skepta’s vocals, so it’s like this purely melodic version of the hook floating just under the haze and serving as scaffolding for the overall stoned vibe.
Buy it from Amazon.
November 8th, 2016
I Can’t Feel My Hair
Really Big Pinecone “Everybody Needs Friends”
Really Big Pinecone’s music is somehow both restless and chill at the same time. The guitar parts have a mellow tone, but the melodies wind around in strange knots and change direction at odd intervals. It’s kinda like if Real Estate tried to channel the chaos of a Captain Beefheart record, and then balanced that with a lot of inexplicably tight vocal harmonies. “Everybody Needs Friends” is actually one of the least eccentric cuts on their new EP, and though it’s not quite as novel as a few of the other songs, the slightly more relaxed structure gives the singers a bit more space to sing. The tone is fascinating, and I think this music will resonate with anyone who’s ever been a bit uptight even when they’re stoned or drunk.
Buy it from Amazon.
November 10th, 2016
One Eye On The Door
Duck “Lip on the Floor”
Duck are essentially a synthpop duo, but their music is essentially a digital simulation of grunge circa ’91. It’s interesting to hear this sort of L7/Mudhoney vibe transposed to keyboards and drum machines – it’s just as loud and murky, but the sound is more tinny and the drum machine imposes a tighter grid on a style that’s either much more dense and wild or a little bit slack. That rolling, distorted bass line sounds amazing though, and the vocals add a playful, British femininity that nudges the overall aesthetic a bit closer to, say, Sleeper or Elastica.
Buy it from Bandcamp.