The other day, as I was sitting at work pondering why the men in the office seem to use the bathroom (which is directly in front of me) so frequently, I couldn’t get this catchy tune out of my head. “Party baby, get on the dance floor, cos partly maybe, I wanna dance with you…” along with an intoxicating mix of instruments and sounds. WTF could it be? The last time I was in the music “know” was in college when I swayed to Pearl Jam and the like in my flannel grunge shirt and ripped jeans while trippin’ on shrooms (Just kidding, Mom). Living in Spain for ten years may have broadened my horizons, but it dampened my music taste, as only crappy American songs made it over there. Mysteriously, Dire Straits was HUGE among young folk (must be a David Hasselhoff in Germany phenomenon).
But I digress. It suddenly occurred to me where the song came from. It was the Subterraneans—my brother’s band—a cool fusion of indie rock and poetic rap vocals. He’d recently played me the demo of his new album, Clamor in the Garden (Pollen Records) and it was literally implanted into my head "Inception" style. (You can buy it here on itunes, mmmkay?)
Anyone who knows the Subs, and believe me, I do, knows that their music is hypnotic, intense, chill, inventive and intelligent. Rather than the “F Yo Mamma” style of rap, the word mincing is amazing. Here’s an excerpt from my fav of all time, “Climbing, Falling” from The Now That It’s Sinking In EP:
When you’re climbing…
And your face is in amazement and the pace of finger placement all relates to how you chase things
But when you fall…
Everything gets assorted, so when it hits the floor you need to sort it
Clamor In the Garden differs from the Subs’ first two albums (A Bellow Below and The Now That It’s Sinking In EP) in that it’s a bit faster paced and even more inventive then the first two (there's one song that has a country influence. Country and rap you say whilst wrinkling your nose in disgust? I swear, it works!) My fav songs on the album are: “Partly Maybe” and “Beautiful Encounter.”
So for the love of Hasselhoff, buy the freakin album—and while you’re at it, spread the word to anyone else you know who would like to rid the world of the Biebers and the Jonas and the Montanas and all the other crap that the young whippersnappers call music these days!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
such a nice sis.
ReplyDeleteThats awesome that a song got stuck in your head after one listen! What can I say, we're amazing. jk. Thanks for the coverage, hope you like the whole album!
ReplyDeleteExcellent. I am so glad new material is out by this group. I got the second album as a birthday gift last year and for a long, happy while, listened to it obsessively. I would periodically drop it into the playlist after that and it always led to another near obsession. Its the kind of music that actually gets better with each listen. Whether its the way the melody and acoustic guitars lift you up, soon to be driven forward by a the pulsing of a drum machine or the sometimes dizzying lyrics and the pictures they paint or the way they all seem to juxtapose but compliment each other so perfectly, I discover something new and exciting at each place in the music no matter how many times I visit. I am really looking forward to checking out the new material.
ReplyDeleteNot to take away from the buzz of the album, but as someone who makes several trips to the bathroom during work (i usually accumulate an hour's worth of time in there throughout the day) I'd be happy to help solve your pondering.
ReplyDeleteOnly crappy american songs make it over here? Well, at least nobody here cares about these Biebers and Jonas and company... at least nobody older than 5! Besides, you became a fan of ManĂ¡ by yourself.... at least now in the States you can get some good influence in your family!
ReplyDeleteAnd I don't think we guys go so often to the toilet... but at least we go there alone!
I'm going to check the new album now...
ReplyDelete