My computer broke. I thought I’d lost everything, which would have been a minor tragedy for man, a non-event for mankind. Miraculously, everything was recovered, and my computer works fine now. My repair guy didn’t seem to know what was wrong with it or how he fixed it, but I’m going to stop playing wallball with my computer and I’m going to start backing up my files.
Remembrance Day is also my editor, Max Maki’s birthday, and yesterday she reached the quarter century mark. She is a sometimes unsung hero of this blog, dutifully correcting my often incomprehensible prose and always suggesting “more jokes.” Happy birthday!
My birthday is Monday. Start thinking about what you want to get me. I was thinking about setting up a registry. Thoughts?
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Wolf Parade - "I'll Believe In Anything"
I know, I know, I’m way behind on this one, but it’s my birthday and I’ll write what I want to. Specifically (and I mean really specifically) I’d like to write about the interval of 2:18 to 3:08. The whole song is a sort of epiphanic climax. But maybe more like an eternally delayed climax. Because, though it starts off wildly tense, intensely regimented, infused with the spiritual fervor of gospel music, it manages to build and build, achieves unexpected heights, always delaying a release, maintaining tension as the volume and tempo increase. The fact that between 2:18 and 3:08 there is no release of tension despite the emergence of a magnificent crescendo is a special feat of musical composition. The song is possessed of such contained energy that I find my body affected. It’s hard to breathe with anything other than quick, short gasps. It is certainly not a song for dancing to. [Buy]
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My Morning Jacket - "Wordless Chorus"
Z presents a new My Morning Jacket, one more enamored with the Flaming Lips than with CCR. I can’t say that for me it’s an entirely welcome change, but the songs remain like fine fillets of salmon: delicate and tender. And pink, and good with lemon. [Buy]
Posted by Jordan at November 13, 2005 4:45 AMThat Wolf Parade song is easily the best song on the album...I mean, it's a great album, but it's probably one of my all-time favourite songs. Thanks for posting it!
Posted by matthew at November 13, 2005 2:54 PMThat Flaming Lips song is spectacular. As is their cover of "If I Only Had A Brain." I'm loving The Flaming Lips these days.
Posted by Caley at November 13, 2005 3:43 PMThe MMJ album is really growing on me--specifically "Into The Woods". What a song.
Wolf Parade? Nice. I saw them in Philly a few weeks ago. Great show, but these guys were a disorganized mess.
http://www.thebmrant.com/?p=599
Posted by Matt at November 13, 2005 7:06 PMI'll Believe in Anything is my favourite wolf parade sone, thanks!!
Posted by Anonymous at November 13, 2005 7:09 PMJordan, I got myself an 80 Gb exteral hard drive in fear of the very thing you opened your post with - losing it all! it's cheap and easy and lets us MP3 file'o'philes sleep at night...
Posted by pete at November 13, 2005 7:46 PMWell, until your external crashes. Always make redundant backups of anything important, and don't skimp an additional $20 to get the more reliable HD brand. But all disks fail, sooner or later.
Regardless of our Wolf Parade glut, "I'll Believe in Anything" was gonna be posted by me, sooner or later, so it's good that you beat me to it. This recording of it, and the EP recording of "Dinner Bells", are my favourite things they've done. I love the whirling whirring spirit of this song, like you say the way that the energy of the song bumps up (like from a side ring to the grandstand), without any of that clockwork hollerin' and guitar swarmin' letting up. It's a marvel of arrangement and of sound! Yay!
I'm also glad you posted on the MMJ, because I reacted with total ambivalence but was never a big fan, and was curious what you thought. Your words are wonderful, and succulent.
And Happy Birthday!
Posted by Sean at November 13, 2005 8:04 PMHAPPY BIRTHDAY
Posted by Anonymous at November 13, 2005 10:07 PMHAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Posted by DAMAMA at November 13, 2005 10:21 PMDidn't Dan post I'll Believe in Anything, maybe last spring sometime? It was already in my StG folder...
Posted by alice at November 14, 2005 12:05 AMAlice - I posted an earlier version of the song in February.
Posted by Jordan at November 14, 2005 12:36 AMHAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPYYYY BIRTHDAY
Posted by Tom at November 14, 2005 4:30 PMthat wolf parade track is fabulous, and your review of it is spot on.
(agree also with your review of Takk some months ago - what an album)
Posted by Anonymous at November 17, 2005 12:16 PM'I Believe...' - yes, an amazing song. But not one to dance to? I disagree. Perhaps not 'dancing' per se, but for whirling around arrhythmically in the grip of some sort of dervish, I think so.
I can't work out of I prefer the CBC session or the album version. The former is a ragged, off-kilter beast, while the song has been shaped into a hymn delivered with the force of a breeeblock for the album. Hmm.
Posted by mr_glide at November 17, 2005 1:23 PM
and it will begin playing. All songs are also available to download: just right-click the link and choose 'Save as...'
