Since I Left You

Yep, I’m such a blogger. Such a blogger that I haven’t posted anything in more than 11 weeks (July 18 to be precise). New job, new responsibilities and a not whole lot of anything for the HARDEST WALK. Priorities, right? We took our daughter up to Gainesville for a college visitation trip at UF a few weekends ago—exciting and strangely nostalgic all at the same time. Has it really been nearly two decades since I went through the same process?

The Cut and Paste Collage will mark its eighth “on air” anniversary this month at WPRK/91.5. The debut transmission of the weekly radio show was the first week of October 1999—switched to a bi-weekly format in early 2005—and it has served as an extension of my music writing and continued interest in DJ culture. After more than 300 broadcasts over the course of the past decade—launching at the peak of post-rock and landing on the current splintering of laptop pop—my intent has pretty much remained intact. That is, a continuous “ambient” mix of underground rock, experimental and electronic music spanning five decades. [Note to self: Do I really want to become that “guy” with graying hair who still hangs out at a college radio station? Discuss … Yes, I do.]

Speaking of Rollins: I attended BlogOrlando’s Unconference last week on behalf of my employer (which was probably the catalyst to publish new content here). Was pretty interesting overall; plenty of discussion on the role of social media and its two-way conversation aspect. As I have considerable experience as an online journalist and blogger myself, as well parallel roles in corporate PR—with strong opinions about each—I approached the conference from a fairly unique perspective. Most attendees seemed to come from one position or the other, but not both.

Film-wise, I’m really looking forward to the new Coen brothers film, No Country for Old Men, due out on November 21. We even bought the book it was based on (though as Beth will attest, it remains to be seen if I’ll actually read it before we watch the movie). As fans know, the Coens inhabit two worlds, the surreal comedy of Raising Arizona or The Big Lebowski, as well as the violent noir of Blood Simple and Miller’s Crossing. After viewing the trailer a few months ago, this one definitely skews towards the later.

Also, Anton Corbijn’s Control, portraying the rise and fall of Ian Curtis and Joy Division, was released in the U.K. As expected, still no word on a U.S. date for the film (locally, Enzian?). As far as music, here’s a quick run-down what’s been loaded into my iPod during the past two months:

• Andorra – Caribou: Dan Snaith continues to amaze with his fourth full-length; this one focuses his amazing laptop production and formidable songwriting abilities on ’60s sunshine- and psych-pop (with strong doses of shoegaze and Krautrock).
• We Can Create – Maps: Yet another skilled bedroom producer that comes across as a full band, James Chapman bends his upfront melodies in My Bloody Valentine washes, breathy vocals and Air-y synths.
• Mirrored – Battles: While the insane “Atlas” is still a favorite—a T. Rex stomp with swirling loops, processed voices and a distorted bass riff—it’s the albums red herring. The rest is well produced, but way too “proggy” for its own good and contains nothing as immediate as the before-mentioned single. Zappa anyone?
• The Distant Future EP – Flight of the Conchords: Press “play” and laugh. That’s all I need here from this HBO-payrolled act.
• Lost in Translation – Various artists: I’ve wanted this appropriately shoegaze soundtrack to a shoegaze film since it was released in 2003, and iTunes made it that much easier. I mean, MBV, Jesus and Mary Chain, Air, Death in Vegas, Kevin Shields, Squarepusher ...

Cut and Paste Collage: New Dawn Fades

An admittedly darker set than usual—I tried a few self-corrections to no avail—and I have no explanation. I was in a happy mood too. So you have the eerie psychedelia of “A Forest”—still never get tired on this track—mixing into Battles > Electrelane > Add N to (X) > Black Mother Super Rainbow ...

If recent posts are any indicator, I’ve been re-examining quite a bit of my post-punk catalog, but not so much the usual aspects of the usual suspects. Some of the most exciting underground music of the late-’70s through the early-’80s welded the minimalist traits of Krautrock (and dub)—lock-grooves, drones, electronics, ambient melodies, loops, noise, etc.—to the volume and attack of punk. See the more experimental tendencies of P.I.L., Joy Division, The Cure, Wire, Mission of Burma, Fall, Talking Heads ... And a few years later: Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain, Cocteau Twins and Spacemen 3.

Read a recent news item on the Pitchdork site that referenced the Arcade Fire and Clinic playing a series of shows together in the U.K. Now that would be freakin’ amazing! I’ve wanted to see Clinic for a long time—they rarely, if ever, tour the U.S.—and Arcade Fire would provide an uplifting balance to the former’s cool menace. London anyone? The set list for July 17:

1. “The Dead Flag Blues” – Godspeed You Black Emperor!
2. “A Forest” – The Cure
3. “Atlas” – Battles
4. “Between the Wolf and the Dog” – Electrelane
5. “Invasion of the Polaroid People” – Add N to (X)
6. “Drippy Eye” – Black Moth Super Rainbow
7. “Roygbiv” – Boards of Canada
8. “Joy” – Circulatory System
9. “Sculpture” – Skalpel
10. “Black Light” – Bowery Electric
11. “Just Like Honey” – Jesus and Mary Chain
12. “There She Goes Again” – Velvet Underground
13. “Lay Back in the Sun” – Spiritualized
14. “Les Professionnels” – Air
15. “Drove Through Ghosts to Get Here” – 65 Days of Static
16. “Moving Through Time” – Angelo Badalamenti
17. “There Goes the Fear” – Doves
18. “I Heard You Looking” – Yo La Tengo
19. “Total Trash” – Sonic Youth
20. “Suzanne” – Leonard Cohen
21. “Hideaway” – Olivia Tremor Control
22. “Mountains” – Sparklehorse
23. “Bees” – Caribou
24. “The Clock” – Thom Yorke
25. “Oxygene 6” – Jean Michel Jarre
26. “New Dawn Fades” – Joy Division
27. “Persimmon Tree” – Midnight Movies
28. “Left On” – The Sea and Cake

Between the Wolf and the Dog

I have recently accepted a position in the public relations department of a regional tourism & travel agency as a copywriter. It’s a great opportunity and I’m pretty excited about it. As I write this, I have less than 48 hours left at my current employer and it is indeed a strange feeling. But that could be because my family’s healthcare coverage was erroneously terminated two weeks early—the same day I gave my notice, coincidence?—by our moronic, soulless HR provider (outsourced, of course) ... But that’s another Sicko-esque story that I’ll refrain from detailing here.

Electrelane continues to capture more of my iPod listening time than any other new release in recent memory (well, except for maybe Dandelion Gum). Though often compared to Stereolab, these four ladies are less pretentious and more Earth-bound. No Shouts, No Calls perfectly distills their sound; pure Velvet Underground lock-grooves, propulsive drones and simplistic melodies that range from delicate to aggressive. Mia Clarke’s gorgeous (and charmingly flat) vocals wrap the non-instrumental tracks in conversationalist lyrics. Favorites: “To the East,” “Tram 21” and “Between the Wolf and the Dog.”

Battles: Hyper-Real and Disorienting

Thanks to the Interpol boys—or more likely, the marketing department at Capitol Records—I received three free songs from iTunes with the purchase of Our Love to Admire. I’d been reading quite a bit about the late-'60s Los Angles band Love, so I grabbed “Alone Again Or” taken from the darkly-hued psychedelia of Forever Changes (embarrassingly, I only recently discovered that the Damned’s version was indeed a cover, though a very respectful one ...).

I also downloaded “Atlas” from the Battles’ Mirrored (which along with Forever Changes, I’ll be soon purchasing out-right). I had a cursory opportunity to skim through the album during my radio show and this song quickly caught my attention. A tight, T. Rex-inspired pound grounds the track, which incorporates layer-upon-swirling-layer of processed sing-song mantras, distorted two-note bass riffs, winding guitar figures, buzzing synths and glitches that are played with increasing intensity and volume. It’s hyper-real and disorienting; call it post-modern carnival music. Or insane. But I really like it.

Less Post-Punk, More David Lynch

Bought Interpol’s latest, Our Love to Admire, which treads familiar ground while also positioning the band in new directions. Many of the songs cast the smoky, noir-ish vibe of late-period Afghan Whigs (or even the Twilight Singers), so it’s less post-punk, more David Lynch. Which is fine with me. This decade has seen way too many acts simply recycling ’80s post-punk while masquerading as a cover band—see The Killers as a prime offender—without imbedding any new relevance. Or even worse, taking the dilettante approach where the most superficial aspects of the sound are brought to the forefront.

It’s really a no-win for Interpol—and with many bands in general—with this third release because if they had simply recycled Bright Lights again, much of the music press would have labeled them “tired.” And if they make any incremental creative gains—and the ones here are just that—they get criticized too. This can also be true of the listeners; a band's creative ambitions easily out-pacing and alienating their fanbase’s. While some bands can successfully release record after record that simply re-focuses their initial sound—the Mary Chain comes to mind—just also remember that not everyone can be Radiohead (nor should they aspire to be). Bottom-line: don’t hold a band back by imposing creative restrictions or expecting them to reinvent their sound with each subsequent release.

Though I’ve interviewed Interpol previously and seen them live—a very engaging performance a few years back—I never made a full commitment to them as a fan. Maybe that’s why I can now give them full credit three albums in while others seem dazed and confused in the moonlight. One thing though: the cover art drops continuity and is absolutely horrendous.

Cut and Paste Collage: Ceremony

For some unexplained reason,
I only recently discovered the Galaxie 500 cover of New Order’s “Ceremony” after a radio show caller made a request for the song (something long-time listeners know I rarely follow through on). Galaxie slowed the tempo down a bit and, of course, smeared it with reverb, while retaining its build up of intertwined guitars and bittersweet intensity. Absolutely gorgeous unto itself, and also a reminder of the original’s timeless beauty.

As the final song attributed to Joy Division, written in the weeks prior to Ian Curtis’ suicide in 1980, “Ceremony” would become the debut single released by the recast New Order a year later. I remember hearing it for the first time after working “backwards” through New Order’s catalog—my initial entry points were
Power, Corruption & Lies and Lowlife—and being amazed at how it used relatively simple musical elements to convey complex emotions. While the clanging chords and Bernard Sumner’s scornful vocals seem at odds with the bass line’s hopeful optimism, it is this very juxtaposition that gives me the chills when I listen to it more than
20 years later, which is a pretty amazing accomplishment.

Speaking of Joy Division—and not the sneakers this time—director Anton Corbijn’s Control is scheduled to be released in the U.K. during September. The film documents Curtis’ life, played by actor
Sam Riley, as well as the rise and fall of Joy Division. Interestingly, the screenplay was adapted from the book Touching from a Distance, written by Curtis’ wife Deborah. The actors reportedly played all of the actual Joy Division music themselves during scenes of the band performing on stage—I’m curious how they tackled Peter Hook’s deceptively “easy” bass parts—which will hopefully offer a more visceral portrayal. The U.S. release date remains unscheduled.
The set list for June 19:

1. “Octet” – Deerhunter
2. “Drippy Eye” – Black Moth Super Rainbow
3. “Program 10 – Part 3” – Bill Holt
4. “Marking Time” – Olivia Tremor Control
5. “Can’t Seem to Make You Mine” – Yo La Tengo
6. “Left On” – The Sea and Cake
7. “Don’t Ask Why” – My Bloody Valentine
8. “Music is Math” – Boards of Canada
9. “Between the Wolf and the Dog” – Electrelane
10. “Total Trash” – Sonic Youth
11. “The Telephone is Empty” – Love and Rockets
12. “Cancer” – Meat Beat Manifesto
13. “Empty Houses” – Air
14. “Strange Design” – Midnight Movies
15. “I’m Comin’ Down” – Primal Scream
16. “Sci-Flyer” – Swervedriver
17. “FYUZ” – Add N to (X)
18. “At Night” – The Cure
19. “Ceremony” – Galaxie 500
20. “Pristine” – Julian Cope
21. “Honey” – Spacemen 3
22. “Teenage Lust” – Jesus and Mary Chain
23. “William Tell Overture” – Wendy Carlos
24. “Game of Pricks” – Guided by Voices
25. “Shade and Honey” – Sparklehorse
26. “Object of My Affections” – Peter Bjorn and John
27. “Bees” – Caribou
28. “Next to Nothing” – Bowery Electric
29. “Dr. Strangeluv” – Blonde Redhead

Love Will Wear Us a New Pair of Kicks

Yes kids, you too can own a shiny pair of New Balance “Joy Division”-branded sneakers, if and when they go into production. Seems artist Dylan Adair has created these kicks as a tribute to the seminal English post-punk band. The white with grey-accents sneaks incorporate the very cool Peter Saville-designed Unknown Pleasures cover art—one of my personal favorites—on its soles and tongue. The back is even imprinted with “FACT 10,” the serialized numeral that cataloged each subsequent recording the famed Factory label released.

While I certainly applaud the intent (and amazing artistry) here, I’m just not so sure it meshes with Joy Division’s bleak style and usually suspect view of fashion. Now if these were New Order-inspired, no problem, as I could easily see Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook rockin’ a pair circa ’84 or so when they were deep into NYC electro, a few years before they discovered acid-house.

This does make sense: the Converse “Ramones” All Star Hi, covered in distressed denim (whatever that is). You know they wore ’em, so why not? They even include “Hey Ho Let’s Go” on the label. With 10% of the net wholesale price of each purchase going to The Global Fund—sounds made up, like George’s “Human Fund” on Seinfeld—you’ll also be helping save the world, which is so punk rock.

Me, I’ll take my Premier One Stars, which Beth custom-designed via the Converse site as a second anniversary present. They’re black suede and pretty worn-in now, just how I like them (credit her for also bringing the JD and Ramones footwear to my attention).

Daydreaming (Summer) Days in a Daydream Nation

After reading several recent reviews on the expanded re-issue of Sonic Youth’s amazing Daydream Nation (1988)—no need to discuss its utter brilliance here—I’m reminded of how it became my favorite “summer” album. I received Daydream Nation from my younger brother Michael for my 18th birthday—May 4, 1989—during the remaining weeks of my senior year of high school. I remember dropping the double-length cassette into the tape deck of my ’83 Toyota Camry and listening to the somewhat misleading ambient opening of “Teenage Riot” for the first time. Then my head split open ... I ended up buying Sister the very next day.

Daydream Nation soundtracked that seemingly endless summer before college. Its expansive and ever-evolving dynamics seemed to mirror Central Florida’s ultra-humid months of June, July and August, complete with dramatic tempo shifts, fiery noise attacks and plenty of deep, murky atmospheres. Great for well, daydreaming, or driving down I-4 at 3 a.m. Though that summer was nearly 20 years ago, I have retained a very personal connection to Daydream Nation quite simply because I never stopped listening to it.