Fucking awesome weekend. The fireworks that went off in the distance during Everything In Its Right Place--too perfect.
I don't see how any festival could top that list of headliners.
Kinda wish the author was responding to points/debating (rather like Michael did/does on his pieces; the QOTSA "...LC" album review comes to mind--that was a good discussion).
Maybe it's me, but I've always appreciated bloggers/writers/columnists who comment and respond to comments on their posts. Isn't that what the internet makes possible? The discussion shouldn't end at the article (as if that's all there is to be said on the subject), ESPECIALLY when it's something so obviously subjective as this is.
Nah, you're not wrong. Lt. Wine is being sarcastic, I assume, because "I don't even" is a pretty common expression, and yes, it's just like "Why I outta!" or something similar.
Thanks, Lt. Wine, for gram(mar)splaining to us! Ugh.
Can we just retire the term "mansplaining"? Whatever point/impact/significance it originally had has been lost in a sea of jump-to-conclusion thinkpieces/facebook statuses.
I enjoy UMO, but holy shit, the band is so much better live. Ruban Nielson is my new guitar hero. This isn't a slight toward their albums, either--the live performance is just that good.
I'm glad to see Comedown Machine on here. I think that record is going to age better than critics initially thought.
I'm also loving John Vanderslice's new LP Dagger Beach, but I don't think it's seen "official" release yet.
Hell of a good write up here, Michael. I usually go for sludgier stuff when it comes to metal, but I'm really enjoying this album. These songs might as well be bathing directly in the sun, they're that huge-sounding.
My exact thoughts! I was actually reading up on them a little bit ago and didn't really know where to begin, or how to even conceptualize the band other than "Rod Stewart's backing band," which is obviously an unfair and incomplete treatment.
In related news..."Maggie May"...yeah, that's a great fucking song.
Good points. Era Vulgaris, I listen to maybe 4 or 5 of the songs, and effectively ignore the entire back half (after 3s and 7s). And the 4 or 5 that I liked initially are the same 4 or 5 that I like now. (I'm waiting for the rest to click, but it just hasn't happened yet.) My immediate reaction to ...Like Clockwork has been, "Hey, I like all of these songs!" I guess because of that I'm less bothered by the liner notes and the build-up to the album, though I can understand how it might seem off putting, or even pointless, or--worst of all--like self-serving (and ultimately empty) hype.
Part of my reaction/enjoyment might also be due to the fact that I wasn't necessarily expecting to enjoy it as much as I am, so there's that.
Also: I do think an expansion of/tangent from this article would make a pretty killer entry to the Deconstructing section. An article about "collectives" and how the different members are used, and how collectives can change when one guy takes over, etc. Queens doesn't exactly fit the "collective" bill, since it has always been Homme's brainchild, but I think it would be interesting to compare SFTD era QOTSA with something like, say, Broken Social Scene.
I've had this album on repeat since it leaked, and I'm a devout proselytizer of SFTD's genius, and I think Era Vulgaris was pretty weak. But I think ...Like Clockwork is pretty fantastic. You didn't even mention the weird doo-wop influences! "Kalopsia" basically turns its title into the shee-bop-shee-bops from "I Only Have Eyes For You", for crying out loud.
And, like, okay, the album isn't SFTD (nothing ever will be), but this read more like a Deconstructing: QOTSA than it does an evaluation of an album. And it works as that sort of deconstruction, but it gives short shrift to the music at hand. Who cares if Elton John's name is on the liner notes? Homme has always (from what I've gathered) looked at the outfit as a group of interchangeable parts. It's totally valid to criticize that, especially when it results in something mechanical like Era Vulgaris (that was a going-through-the-motions album if there ever was one). The songs here show Homme in a much more emotive light, and some of the melodies are gorgeous (the soft parts of Kalopsia come to mind). I'm a little disappointed that those aspects were glossed over.
I largely agree with the points made about *why* SFTD worked so well, and I think that was the one album that felt like the work of a collective, with Homme as leader or something. But I think it's unfair (and pointless) to wish for a similar set-up now, especially considering that we're ten years past SFTD. ...Like Clockwork feels, to my ears anyway, like a meticulously organized album, and if Grohl played drums on a track that didn't require him to beat the shit out of the kit, so what? There's a lot of subtlety here, at least as far as this band is concerned, and the players are used in subtle ways. I'm fine with that.
My comment got eaten :( but it was mainly this: The critics need to get off Bradford's dick, cause Lockett Pundt has written some of the band's best songs and the lack of "Agoraphobia" and "Desire Lines" is just bizarre. The songs on the list are all good, but...yeah. The huge leap in sound between Turn It Up Faggot and Cryptograms is attributable to Pundt's joining the band and adding his hazey, reverbed guitar style.
And yeah, Nothing Ever Happened, smh.
Laughed out loud when the kid showed up, and grinned the whole way through. Simple, effective video made funnier by the band's "sad-rock" reputation. Love these guys.
Did Pundt write Agoraphobia? I've never been able to figure this out, since Cox sings it live/Pundt sings on record. THAT (+ Cover Me Slowly intro) is probably my favorite Deerhunter song.
^ ^ Both of these. I think the prospect of an epic six-hour reinterpretation is kind of cool. Ridiculous, but cool.
Also, I dunno about anyone else but I laughed out loud at the piece's title. A Lot Of Sorrow. Heh.
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