Thursday, December 14, 2006

10-6

10) The Pipettes – We Are the Pipettes
One of the Pipettes has an incredibly alluring voice. All of them have lovely pipes but one in particular always gets me. I said as much to Nick, oh you mean….? He said a name but I immediately blocked it from my memory. I didn’t/don’t want to know anything about the Pipettes. About the time they dropped this album a friend became the self-proclaimed herald of the “fifties/sixties resurgence”—it’s coming man, it’s coming. He thought everyone would soon sound like the Supremes and Otis Redding. Luckily he was wrong. I’m not much for gimmicks, and don’t care for artists aiming for a “particular” sound. That said I think the Pipettes have a timeless sound. It doesn’t sound like it’s straight out of the fifties, nor does it sound like a twenty-first century retro gimmick. This is why I don’t want to know their names, their biographies or where they learned to sing like cheating angels.

9) Tapes ‘n Tapes – The Loon
This was the first 2006 album that caught my attention. I listened to once and wanted to listen to it again. I’m not sure why and I still haven’t figured that out. I just know I would queue it up on my computer and happily let the album repeat over and over while I studied. I’ve tried to figure out what “Insistor” is talking about to no avail. I’ve often wondered where they get off saying in Houston/They are slow because I’ve driven on the highway in Houston and it’s no joke, eighty miles an hour in bumper to bumper traffic. But I’m content with letting this album remain a mystery, because the mystery keeps me intrigued.



8) Cat Power – The Greatest
I’ve been mentally composing this entry in my head since my drive to work this morning. I’ve tried to find something about this album someone hasn’t already discussed, but I failed miserably. Following the comment trail I came across this short entry by Hammy Harp (real name?): I kind of want to smoke a cigarette with Chan Marshall, you know? I can’t put it any better than that.






7) The Roots – Game Theory
Every morning I leave my apartment and must turn left, meaning I must venture further west in Philadelphia. Between 52nd street and City Line Avenue the world turns into complete shit. I feel bad when I lock my doors as I drive through but I feel I must. For weeks I drove under a banner that proclaimed “Stop the Violence,” until one day it was almost torn in half, riddled with bullets. Sandwiched between the gentrified University City District and one of the richest areas in the country, the Main Line, exists blocks that our country seems to have forgotten. This album serves as the perfect soundtrack for West Philly—driving through listening to the chorus It don’t feel right/It don’t feel right/It don’t Philly/Don’t Philly c’mon. What’s happening in those few blocks shouldn’t happen. Another telling verse: It’s in the music/Turn it up, let it knock/Let it bang on the block ‘til the neighbours call the cops/the cops gonna come but they ain’t gonna do shit/they don’t want to problems/what are y’all stupid?

6) Destroyer – Rubies
Freshman year in our tiny Humbert dorm room Nick and I would constantly get into phases. During such phases only one artist’s sound would emanate from our door. There was the Smashing Pumpkins phase, the Radiohead phase, the Sigur Ros phase and of course the epic Beatles phase. Since then I only declare I really, really love something if I can get into a ________ phase. Since it came out early this year I continually get into a Destroyer phase. Days pass where I only listen to his wordless choruses and mismashed instrumentation. Rubies is an album I love.

3 comments:

Jordan Harp said...

Rubies is so good...I need to listen to it more. Hammy is my sister, a freshman at DePauw this year. I thought she should get in on this blag action. She variously known as Hammy, Ham, Hamz, Haaamz, Nammers, Hamtastic, and Ha-na-na-nah. Her legal name is Hannah Leigh Harp.

Michael said...

The Roots are one of my favorite hip-hop acts, and I thought that Game Theory was really excellent, even for them... and then I didn't listen to it. I don't blame the Roots; I blame myself

Nick said...

I feel bad about leaving out Tapes n tapes. For some reason they never stuck around with me, but of course now I'm feeling bad I left them behind.

oh and everything Austin says about his apartment in Philly is true.