Midweek Musical Mental Moment

Blog Update:

Upgrading the human operating system and will resume regular posting shortly. 

Upcoming blog posts will include: entries in the series on technology in Latin America focusing on Brazil and Mexico; entries in the series on critical techno-cultural competency; and blog posts on 3D printing, Google Glass project, and survey topics in transhumanism. 

Stay tuned. 

Until then, here is a midweek musical mental moment. 

Three songs that have interesting (re: ridiculous) stylistic and temporal relationships. 

Band of Horses: "Dilly"

This is an upbeat pop track with a cool late 1970s early 1980s sheen, reminiscent, for some odd reason, to television shows and early BIlly Joel tracks of the same period (here they are one-and-the-same).

The high point of "Dilly" is a perfect pop chorus: 

"It really took a tall one to see it

Two to believe it
Three to just get in the way"

The pop guitars and staccato piano accents on "Dilly" harken back to two classic television series theme songs from the early 1980s: Greatest American Hero ("Believe It or Not") and Bosom Buddies ("My Life"). 

Greatest American Hero: A teacher becomes a superhero using a special alien space suit that contains powers he can barely understand or control (enter laugh track). He is aided by a government agent and his lawyer girlfriend. Right wrongs, control the suit, & find love.  

Bosom Buddies: Two ad-creative types feel the rent-crunch of the big city (even then, "the rent was too damn high!"), so these two jovial rogues cross-dress in order to live in an all-female apartment complex...hilarity ensues...ah...the kinder gentler days of Reaganomics.

Greatest American Hero: "Believe It or Not" 

Bosom Buddies: "My Life"

Music Break

Here are a few bands for your listening and viewing pleasure. I have pulled these videos from the video link on the site, as the video link will no longer be a part of site navigation. Rather than delete these videos into the youtube soup, I have reposted the videos here. Look for more music video posts each Sunday to help you mentally prepare for the week ahead.

Each group below offers fresh ideas in the modern music scene. I have provided background information and links to each. Dig in.

Department of Eagles: "No One Does it Like You" - This track is perfection. Reminiscent of old 1920s ballads while remaining rooted in indie traditions. 



Band Home Page: http://www.departmentofeagles.com/

Bio: "Department of Eagles began in 2000, when New York University assigned freshmen Fred Nicolaus and Daniel Rossen to share a room. To pass the time during an uneventful spring semester, the two began making music together, collecting samples and turning them into songs using pirated software and a microphone borrowed from their neighbor Chris Taylor (who, years later, would become Daniel's bandmate in Grizzly Bear and DoE's producer/engineer). Somewhat accidentally the group was discovered by a California label and the material recorded in this period was combined with later studio sessions to form Department of Eagles' 2003 debut, The Cold Nose. It gained a small but enthusiastic audience and was praised by critics from the San Francisco Bay Guardian to the London Times."

Grizzly Bear: "Ready, Able" : This etherial track hits many interesting themes. Reminiscent of Jens Leckman, Daniel Rossens' open vocal style reverberates through the open chords of the guitar. At once melancholy and hopeful.

Band Home Page: http://grizzly-bear.net/about/

Bio: "Grizzly Bear began as a moniker for songwriter Ed Droste's music in the early 2000s.In 2004, Droste released Grizzly Bear's debut album, Horn of Plenty. Predominately a solo album the album featured contributions from future drummer Christopher Bear. Rolling Stone magazine wrote of the first album that "The pure atmospheric power of the songs is more than enough to hypnotize." Droste and Bear were subsequently joined by bass guitarist and producer Chris Taylor, and performed four shows together as a three-piece."

OK GO: "This Too Will Pass": Great pop song, an anthemic call to take it all in stride. This song stands out for the one-take Rube Goldberg machine that syncs in-time with the musical cues. This video is like pop music meets MythBusters crossed with PBS's 1980s cult science show 3-2-1 Contact.

Version 2

Band Home Page: http://okgo.net/

Wiki Bio: "An American alternative rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois, but now residing in Los Angeles, California. The band is composed of Damian Kulash (lead vocals, guitar), Tim Nordwind (bass guitar and vocals), Dan Konopka (drums and percussion) and Andy Ross (guitar, keyboards and vocals), who joined them in 2005, replacing Andy Duncan. They are perhaps best known for their often elaborate and quirky music videos."

"The original members formed as OK Go in 1998 and released two studio albums before Duncan's departure. The band's video for "Here It Goes Again" won a Grammy Award for "Best Short-Form Music Video" in 2007."

Timber Timbre: "Bad Ritual": This band artfully recalls the blues madness of Screamin' Jay Hawkins... a creepy cacophony of folk, roots, ballads, indie, and horror music.

Band Home Page: http://www.timbertimbre.com/

Wiki Bio: "A Canadian folk music project, featuring Taylor Kirk, Simon Trottier and Mika Posen. The moniker refers to an early series of recordings made in a timber-framed cabin set in the wooded outskirts of Bobcaygeon, Ontario."

"Timber Timbre released two albums independently before releasing a self-titled album on Out of This Spark in January 2009. They were subsequently signed to Arts & Crafts, who re-released the album on June 30 in Canada and July 28 internationally.[1] The album was named as a longlist nominee for the 2009 Polaris Music Prize on June 15, 2009,[2] and was deemed album of the year by Eye Weekly."

"The band's song "Magic Arrow" was featured in the television show Breaking Bad, in the episode "Caballo Sin Nombre", as well as in the TV series The Good Wife, in the episode "Bitcoin for Dummies". "Black Water" features on the soundtrack for the 2012 comedy, For a Good Time, Call... "

"On June 16, 2011, the band's fourth album Creep On Creepin' On was named as a longlisted nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize. On July 6, the album was named as a short listed (one of ten) nominee for the 2011 award."

Vadoinmessico: "Pond": Thick rhythms lay at the heart of Vadoimessico's sound (loosely translates to "I go to Mexico"). Great blend of soca, ska, indie, Spanish folk, and shoe-gaze. This band remains under the radar in the US, but demand a deeper listen.

Band Home Page: https://soundcloud.com/vadoinmessico

SoundCloud Bio: "Vadoinmessico are a 5 piece band from several corners of the Earth residing in London and playing beautiful, nostalgic psychedelic freak-folk. Giorgio (from Italy), Salvador (from Mexico) started the band and were soon joined by banjo player Stefan (from Austria) and Alessandro (also Italian), and their English drummer Joe."

Musical Time Machine: The Band & Dr. Dog

Music connects time, place, memory, emotion, and sound. It marks, punctuates, and accents the many macro and micro moments of our lives. When the music itself is built out of musical histories and genres, it makes the marks on our lives all the more indelible. 

A select few bands are able to capture all of that simultaneously. Time, Place, Memory, Emotion,   Sound.

When musicians weave these influences while penning something new and fresh...we are in precious territory.

For Consideration: The Band and Dr. Dog. Two groups that artfully weave folk, gospel, rock, pop, ballad, funk, soul, country, roots, and eclectica.

Here then for your listening pleasure is a video one-two punch from two important groups with noted similarities that straddle American musical genres, linking us to something bigger and deeper than self, while acknowledging the place of the individual in the social collective human experience.

The Band: Detailed information can be found here: 

Brief Wiki Bio: "The Band was a Canadian-American roots rock group that originally consisted of Rick Danko (bass guitar, double bass, fiddle, trombone, vocals), Levon Helm (drums, mandolin, guitar, vocals), Garth Hudson (keyboard instruments, saxophones, trumpet), Richard Manuel (piano, drums, baritone saxophone, vocals) and Robbie Robertson (guitar, vocals). The members of the Band first came together as they joined rockabilly singer Ronnie Hawkins's backing group, The Hawks, one by one between 1958 and 1963."

"In 1964, they separated from Hawkins, after which they toured and released a few singles as Levon and the Hawks and the Canadian Squires. The next year, Bob Dylan hired them for his U.S. tour in 1965 and world tour in 1966.[1] Following the 1966 tour, the group moved with Dylan to Saugerties, New York, where they made the informal 1967 recordings that became The Basement Tapes, which forged the basis for their 1968 debut album Music from Big Pink. Because they were always "the band" to various frontmen, Helm said the name "The Band" worked well when the group came into its own.[2][N 1] The group began performing officially as The Band in 1968, and went on to release ten studio albums. Dylan continued to collaborate with The Band over the course of their career, including a joint 1974 tour."

"The original configuration of The Band ended its touring career in 1976 with an elaborate live ballroom performance featuring numerous musical celebrities. This performance was immortalized in Martin Scorsese's 1978 documentary The Last Waltz." (Wiki, 2013).

The Band: Big Pink

Dr. Dog: Detailed information here. 

Brief Wiki Bio: "Dr. Dog is an indie rock band from West Grove, Pennsylvania.[1] Its lineup consists of Toby Leaman (bass guitar), Scott McMicken (lead guitar), Frank McElroy (rhythm guitar), Zach Miller (keyboard), andEric Slick (drums). Lead vocal duties are shared between Leaman and McMicken, with all members contributing harmonies. In addition, each band member has a nickname, and they have explained that friends of the band also receive nicknames, which are drawn from aspects of their lives and personalities (Former member Andrew "Trial" Jones, for example, is a licensed attorney).[2]"

"The band's unique version of indie rock is strongly influenced by bands of the 1960s. Their earlier recordings show influence of the lo-fi sound and pop sensibilities of indie rock bands of the 1990s, such as Guided By Voices and Pavement.[3] Recent albums have featured more polished production" (Wiki, 2013).

Dr. Dog: Fate