Pitchfork Reviews 6/3/08

Spiritualized
Songs in A&E
[Universal / Fontana / Spaceman; 2008]

Pitchfork gave it an 8.4 and did not list it as one of 2008's 50 best albums.

I was trying to figure out what I don't like about this, and it boils down to backup singers. I have a rule about backup singers. And it says that: "if you're a nasal white guy who writes his own songs and you get to a point where you feel you need to hire backup singers who are WAY better singers than you are (read: three black women) because otherwise there'd just be no way to convey the soulful power of your meaning, then you're officially full of shit." The corollary is that duets with a single woman who's better than you equals you're on notice.

But it's tricky here. Not all of these songs have backup singers. I get the feeling that all of the songs NEED backup singers, though. This album sounds like a boring concert at a medium-big venue (balcony, "perfect" sound clarity) with an over-rehearsed band and backup singers and maybe a bongo player, and lots of musicians getting introduced, and lots of applause for the string section or the horn players, and a big applause break for the drummer who steps out in front of his kit, makes sure to find his light, and plays the accordion for the duration of the "heartbreaking ballad" portion of the program.

It's the Bruce Springsteen mold. I've never seen the boss live, but I'd reckon that my back would start hurting like a son of a bitch around minute 90 as "Out In The Street" medleys into "Thunder Road" and I look at my watch and realize I've got at least another hour to go. And I'd feel irritated that I'd be expected to endure this and even feel obligated to because look at the boss: he's sweating like a pig, grinning from ear to ear, and he's 30 years older than me. Add the crowds of middle aged guys screaming "woo" and braggin about how many times they've seen him play, and the whole thing gets a pass. But that's conjecture.

Anyhow, this has backup singer's disease. Which is a real shame considering this guy is one of the Spacemen 3 guys.


Lykke Li
Youth Novels
[LL; 2008]

Pitchfork gave it a 7.8 and listed it as the 45th best album of 2008.

I was at a bar last night and heard "Give It Away" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Twice. And guess what? I liked it. I used to love that song when I was 12. Turns out I wasn't wrong, necessarily, I was just embarrassed to be a 12 year old who likes "funk punk." I won't get on my own back about it, though. Those are probably the two most embarrassing things for a person to be.

Maybe it's the weather change. Lately I've been super tolerant of pop songs. I found myself at a bar while the MGMT "all along the western front" song came on, and I got the sneaking suspicion that it's the best dancepop single we've had since Prince's heyday. It helps that that's exactly what they were going for, but still. I'm impressed by it.

Anyhow, this is right there in the heart of the Swedish motherlode of electropop fun goodness. I'm in the mood for it. Because it's spring and there are boobs out and I'm 12 again.


The Black Angels
Directions to See a Ghost
[Light in the Attic; 2008]

Pitchfork gave it a 6.1.

Nate Patrin says this is useless to anybody who's not on drugs, and I disagree. I think it's useless to anybody who's on drugs too. If doing drugs and listening to music is any kind of a priority to you, then you've already got at least 10 things like this that are better than this, and if you put this on while you're on drugs, you will be bummed out, not know why, and then once you realize it's because this is on, you'd muster the motivation necessary to switch this to something else. And "something else" might be a collection of pre-WWII cartoons or something like that, because this could put you off from music for a while. And those cartoons are amazing. And then you'll get distracted and make yourself a sandwich or something. And then the cartoons will seem like a bad idea, so you'll just turn on the TV and end up watching the last 45 minutes of "Another 48 Hours." Or something. But yeah, this album isn't going to put you over the top into some other land. It's just going to leave you frustrated and restless. It's a waste of drugs.


The Pinker Tones
Wild Animals
[Nacional; 2008]

Pitchfork gave it a 5.7.

This is all over the place. It's fucking terrible too. I was gonna write out a joke for every track, but then that would involve listening to the whole thing, so I scrapped that idea pretty fast. Here's the best joke I came up with. It doesn't apply to every track, but applying this to anything, even partially, should be enough:

I thought Beck already was a mashup of Beck and Kids Incorporated, but I guess I was wrong. This is.


Helvetia
The Acrobats
[Static Cult; 2008]

Pitchfork gave it a 6.7.

I'm not gonna lie, there are some days for which it's a huge chore to listen to all of this stuff from 2008. Like later today I'm gonna go to the record shop. I've got some money burning a hole in my pocket. I want to listen to the stuff I might want to buy and go in with a plan instead of just waving a $20 in the air and drooling like the fresh-off-the-beet-truck rock music bumpkin I am.

No offense to Helvetica, or whatever, but they're not on my list right now. Sorry guys. You're not awful, just indistinct. And you're just not on my list right now.

Sorry for the phone-in job. This post sucks.