I've called these last two blogs 'interludes,' promising I'll get back on topic with the next entries: a blog on late 60s Lennon (some comments I wish I had put in my Beatles chapter in British Rock Modernism) and John Sinclair and the politics of post-scarcity.
However, I just heard C'mon, the new record by Duluth's own, Low. I think its my Record of the Year so far: and here's my favorite song from it, "Especially Me":
It's hard to believe that this is the same band I saw play fifteen years ago now ("the passage of time, and all its sickening crimes," etc.) at the Blind Pig in Champaign-Urbana. I don't recall much about the show, except that it was the first concert I had ever seen where the crowd at the bar was louder than the band onstage (Iron and Wine would be the second). The only other things I recall was Mimi Parker playing a stripped down drum-kit, mainly using brushes, and the encore that night: Joy Division's "Transformer," slowed down to a crawl. I recall thinking that the Joy Division cover was both hilarious, and a little bit terrifying.
Flash forward, fifteen years, to "Especially Me." They're still morose, but now there's swelling strings and a lush sound. The songs build; they're not embarrassed about being emotional either. More suprising, Mimi Parker has become a Torch Singer (the opening line, alluding to another torch song,"Cry Me a River," the pop standard sung by Julie London and countless others, gives that away). I would never have guessed the band I saw those many years ago had this in them.
For me, the heart of the song is in the cold curse of the chorus, the song's punchline: "Cause if we knew where we belong/There'd be no doubt where we're from/But as it stands, we don't have a clue/Especially me--and probably you."
No comments:
Post a Comment