Grizzly Bear - "Lullabye". The next Grizzly Bear album is called Yellow House and it is an album that rolls out like an army of giants, like a barrage of comets. Whereas Horn of Plenty is slow and swimming, Yellow House crunches villages underfoot, squeezes hearts in its hands, roars and flashes and fires. It's really fucking great and an enormous leap forward. They've been listening to Terry Riley, p:ano and the Polyphonic Spree - orchestral post-pop that you can fit in yr luggage. They've been teaching their garden to sing. They've been finding a drummer. "Lullabye" is a song of build and build and build, the Northern Lights coming crowding out of the sky while the bassline just skates on, impervious. It blows a balloon bigger and bigger, till you think it gotta explode, till the balloon just carries the blower away. A lullabye "Lullabye" ain't. Except maybe the Final lullabye. The one to send you staggering, crowing, climaxing all the way into the next world.
[Yellow House is out later this year. In the meantime you can hear another new song at Stereogum, and a third at the Grizzly Bear website]
Hamza El Din - "The Water Wheel". The Nubian musician Hamza El Din died this week. My knowledge of Hamza's music is limited to one record, Escalay (The Water Wheel), but that is an album which has given me long moments of peace. Hamza El Din was a master of the oud and the tar. I am not sure what he is playing on "Water Wheel". I think the oud, the north African lute. He sings only sometimes. Mostly this is strum and beat and resound. It's peace, like I said. It's progress and stillness and movement and pause. Hamza was trained as an electrical engineer, and in Sufi mysticism. His music sounds like these things - the work of an engineer, a mystic, a virtuoso. He uses the bones, the hair, the organs of the song. He uses every piece of the song. When the song is done, there are no parts left. When I mentioned "The Water Wheel" to J, he spoke of its minimalism. This isn't the busy "world music" of Varttina or Ladysmith Black Mambazo. This is peace. It's strings and voice and the dry, dry south of Egypt. A long horizon.
If it's dawn when you are reading this, put it on. Listen for twenty-one minutes and thirty-eight seconds. If it's not dawn, perhaps you should put it away somewhere. Onto a CD or an iPod. Into a pocket or onto a piece of string. Save it for a dawn, or a hot white day, or a moment amid greenery when you feel a fluttering in the air.
r.i.p.
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The newest Contrast podcast is made up of songs that are longer than eight minutes. Some notes: (1) It seems Brian has the same favourite record as me; (2) Eric makes me laugh; (3) Green Day are pretty surprising; and (4) You can hear me mumbling an introduction to a Songs:Ohia song that will make you sigh.
Posted by Sean at May 26, 2006 6:30 AMThanks for being part of the CP for a second time Sean. Now I know what you sound like when you aren't creaky. I hope you'll feel inspired to choose something for another podcast in the future. Tim
Posted by Tim Young at May 26, 2006 8:46 AM'Misr Oum al Dunia', as they say in Egypt.
[Egypt is the world's mother]
rip
Posted by Garrincha at May 26, 2006 10:25 AMoh, thanks for that, garrincha. I spent almost half an hour last night trying to find an appropriate phrase in old nubian or egyptian, and you went and did it without even a blink.
i'll second the sentiment.
Posted by Sean at May 26, 2006 10:31 AM"an enormous leap forward"
That's great, and they do sound much fuller than on what I had heard before (sounds like there's some meat with the 2 veg'! Do I mean the drummer? Maybe)
I am told they are great live too...
Wow, Grizzly Bear. Thanks!
Posted by Red Ruin at May 26, 2006 11:34 AMthat grizzly track is severely amazing
Posted by eric at May 26, 2006 1:53 PMthe grizzly bear track is amazing
Posted by ben at May 26, 2006 2:38 PMi cannot wait for this album to come out!
Posted by shel at May 26, 2006 3:09 PMlullabye is really nice.. i cant wait for the show in london tomorrow!
Posted by nico at May 26, 2006 7:58 PM"water wheel" is also pretty appropriate listening for an evening thunderstorm, i'm discovering.
Posted by mysteryship at May 26, 2006 10:25 PMI like oud, thanks. Theorbo too, when I can get it.
Posted by moominpappa at May 27, 2006 10:30 AMThis song is incredible. I'm so excited to hear the album!
Posted by Bobert at May 27, 2006 11:25 AMSorry to here of the passing of Hamza El Din. Took my kids to see him in Ann Arbor a couple of years ago. They were 5 and 8 at the time, sitting at the edge of the stage, and were mezmerized by this great-grandfatherly figure making amazingly beautiful music.
Thank you for the lovely reminder.
Posted by Anonymous at May 28, 2006 8:51 AMwow that lullabye song makes me happy. like some crazy yes prog thing. i think harmonies are like prozac for me
Posted by Anonymous at May 28, 2006 7:12 PMGrizzzzzly Bear has stolen my heart...I was thinking that now Id love to hear them pull off "Wooden Ships" by CSN, live. Much thanks for the song mr. gramophone!
Posted by Cory at May 28, 2006 10:11 PMDidn't know about Hamza El-Din until I read it here. I first heard about him when reading Mickey Hart's Planet Drum, was fascinated, and got an album or two. He was wonderful.
Posted by Vidiot at May 29, 2006 10:15 AM"Sorry to here of the passing of Hamza El Din. Took my kids to see him in Ann Arbor a couple of years ago. They were 5 and 8 at the time, sitting at the edge of the stage, and were mezmerized by this great-grandfatherly figure making amazingly beautiful music.
Thank you for the lovely reminder."
I wish :
1- my father would do such things
2- i'll do that sort of things for my (future) kids
Grizzly Bear is the new crack. Everyone's going to get hooked and I will reap ALL THE BENEFITS! HERE COMES FUCKING SUCCESS!!!! HERE COMES CHINESE RUGS AND THE BEST COCAINE, PUREST, WHITEST, LIKE SNOW! DELIVERED TO MY HOUSE! BY A FOX IN A SPEEDO SERIOUSLY, THE NEW GRIZZLY BEAR RECORD IS GOING TO MAKE THE MASSES WEEP AND MELT LIKE THE WITCH OF THE WEST, IT'S SO GOOD. In all honesty, it's about time for these boys.
Posted by Patrik at May 30, 2006 2:09 PMThat Grizz song is beautiful....reminds me of early Yes is a weird way.
Posted by Anonymous at June 1, 2006 6:32 PMThat Grizz song is beautiful....reminds me of early Yes is a weird way.
Posted by Anonymous at June 1, 2006 6:32 PM
and it will begin playing. All songs are also available to download: just right-click the link and choose 'Save as...'
