Anyway, I have a confession to make.
For the past year, I've been trying really, really hard to get into the modern indie music scene. I've read the reviews, clicked the downloads, seen the shows, etc. I've spent hours browsing artist websites, mp3 blogs and the blackhole of time and energy known as Myspace. Two days (!) I spent chasing down samples of the bands listed on different 2005 End Of Year Best-Of lists. But in the end, all I find myself left with is a handful of songs that I wouldn't mind listening to again (and again and again and again) but nothing worth the hype really. I can't front any longer - I must come clean.
It don't pass the It's-Fine-For-The-Internet-But-Would-I-Play-It-In-My-Car test. At least not the stuff the kids are going nuts for: Arcade Fire, Wolf Parade, Decemberists, The New Pornographers, Clap Your Hands Say YeahYeahWhatever-I-Liked-It-The-First-Time-When-It Was-Called-The Talking-Heads. It's just not doing it for me.
Sufjan Stevens seems to be doing the most with the tools of his genre: celestial strings, muted horns, a male lead vocalist that sounds like he's either ten or been neutered. But the rest of it kind of all runs together to me. Again, a handful of good stuff (see below) but most of it's either too lightweight, or fey, or twee, or whatever the fuck the kids are calling it; or it's rock n' roll without the edge, a la Spoon or The National. It's not what I'm looking for in my music. Although the first track on that Arcade Fire album does kick ass.
Frankly, being unemployed four months out of the year gives me a lot of time to sift the sands of the web to find the good stuff. But it's fucking exhausting. I got loads of spare time and I still can't keep up with all the bands that are supposed to be just "envelope-pushing", let alone "genius". Good luck staying twee and employed, kiddos.
Turns out all I want in my music is some harmonica and some handclaps. Thank you, Southeast Engine (click on One Caught Fire - and wait for it).
More good music: Doh! The song I wanted to put here had fun lyrics, triumphant horns, a loud bass, Doo-Doo'n backup singers, and more handclaps! But the blog it appeared on just killed the link, so....here's the same band, the Scotland Yard Gospel Choir, but a different tune. It's still a good one.
OK, I like a little bit more in my music than just handclaps. I like it traditional sounding but with a touch of discord. Weirdness is good, gimmicks are lame. Noise can be great as long as it's not a replacement for substance, unless of course you can make it work like that. I also need my vocalists to sound like they've been old enough to understand what they're singing about. The Unicorns know better than to try to wrap their feeble limbs around the disillusionment of adulthood. SYGC almost pull that one off but, listening to the guy's voice there, I can't help but get the feeling that if he's dismayed by 23, just wait til he gets a load of 30.
My "indie" favorites from 2005: My Morning Jacket, Z; Devendra Banhart, Cripple Crow; Eels, Blinking Lights...; Caps and Jones, Moving in Stereo; and my man Jens.
Oh yeah, shouts to Yacht Rock. It's the smoothest.
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