for those of you who think the new bloc party single sucks...

You're wrong! It grows on you, it really does. Also, a song with lyrics like the following has to be good.

When I saw you last night, I wanted to say,
`Run away with me, away from the cynics
That this could be the start of something truly real`
But all that I could say was, `hey`,
Was, `hey`, was, `hey`, was, `hey`

<3

That's all.

the past is a grotesque animal

I challenge everyone to find a song with more touching one-liner-lyrics than this one by of Montreal:

The past is a grotesque animal
And in its eyes you see
How completely wrong you can be
How completely wrong you can be

The sun is out, it melts the snow that fell yesterday
Makes you wonder why it bothered

I fell in love with the first cute girl that I met
Who could appreciate Georges Bataille
Standing at Swedish festival discussing "Story of the Eye"
Discussing "Story of the Eye"

It's so embarrassing to need someone like I do you
How can I explain, I need you here and not here too
How can I explain, I need you here and not here too

I'm flunking out, I'm flunking out, I'm gone, I'm just gone
But at least I author my own disaster
At least I author my own disaster

Performance breakdown and I don't want to hear it
I'm just not available
Things could be different but they're not
Things could be different but they're not

The mousy girl screams, "Violence! Violence!"
The mousy girl screams, "Violence! Violence!"
She gets hysterical because they're both so mean
And it's my favorite scene
But the cruelty's so predictable
It makes you sad on the stage
Though our love project has so much potential
But it's like we weren't made for this world
(Though I wouldn't really want to meet someone who was)

Do I have to scream in your face?
I've been dodging lamps and vegetables
Throw it all in my face, I don't care

Let's just have some fun
Let's tear this shit apart
Let's tear the fucking house apart
Let's tear our fucking bodies apart
But let's just have some fun

Somehow you've red-rovered the gestapo circling my heart
And nothing can defeat you
No death, no ugly world

You've lived so brightly
You've altered everything
I find myself searching for old selves
While speeding forward through the plate glass of maturing cells

I've played the unraveler, the parhelion
But even apocalypse is fleeting
There's no death, no ugly world

Sometimes I wonder if you're mythologizing me like I do you
Mythologizing me like I do you

We want our film to be beautiful, not realistic
Perceive me in the radiance of terror dreams
And you can betray me
You can, you can betray me

But teach me something wonderful
Crown my head, crowd my head
With your lilting effects
Project your fears on to me, I need to view them
See, there's nothing to them
I promise you, there's nothing to them

I'm so touched by your goodness
You make me feel so criminal
How do you keep it together?
I'm all, all unraveled

But you know, no matter where we are
We're always touching by underground wires

I've explored you with the detachment of an analyst
But most nights we've raided the same kingdoms
And none of our secrets are physical
None of our secrets are physical
None of our secrets are physical now

if you're so very entertaining, then why are you on your own tonight?!

I've recently decided that The Smiths may be the best pop band to have ever walked on the surface of this earth. Yeah, I know I'm far to easy in handing out these best-thing-ever-labels. I guess you'll have to live with that. The very rare thing about this band is that they both have a very talented lyricist in Morrissey and an excellent guitarist in Johnny Marr. In fact, Marr's typical jangly guitar sound is so memorable and catchy that it will ensure that the songs will get stuck in your head for hours, days, weeks and months. Before you know it, you're yelling 'I would go out tonight / But I haven't got a stitch to wear' when you're riding your bicycle through the city. Yes, that one's from experience. 'This Charming Man' is a great song to sing along to, but my favourite from The Smiths is probably 'I Know It's Over'. Or 'Ask'. Or 'How Soon Is Now?'. Or 'Panic'. Picking just one is like choosing between sleep and music. I.M.P.O.S.S.I.B.L.E. Soo, 'I Know It's Over'. It's probably a bit too angsty and selfdegrading for my own good but I'm a sucker for that kind of stuff. That's just how I roll. To quote Donnie Darko: 'I am pretty- I'm, I'm pretty troubled and I'm, I'm pretty confused. But I... and I'm afraid. Really, really afraid. Really afraid. But I... I... I think you're the fucking Antichrist. ' That last sentence has nothing to do with it, but it's still pretty cool, isn't it?! So yeah, back to the music. Here's a live version from The Smiths' heyday. The performance is a bit iffy, but the music is good, so you should give it a look:

Ára Bátur

Sigur Rós' new album 'Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust' may not be their best work to date, it contains some rather magical moments. Yesterday I was listening to it in my bed with quality headphones and I couldn't help myself but cry at the utter beauty that is 'Ára Bátur'. I know Sigur Rós has already written some classics but 'Ára Bátur' has the quality to be their defining masterpiece. Yes, it's that perfect. I'd kill to see them play this work of bliss at Pukkelpop although I'm not sure how I will react. If I ever need to prevend someone from commiting suicide I'll play him/her this song to show him/her how absolutely gorgeous live can be.

atlas madness

Omdat we Koergekweel en Mestival bezwaarlijk echte festivals kunnen noemen, kreeg Rock Herk de eer om onze festivalzomer feestelijk te openen. En dat gebeurde naar Herkse traditie met een eigenwijs alternatieve affiche om duimen, vingers en, waren we iets leniger, mogelijk ook tenen bij af te likken.

Het Welshe zootje ongeregeld van Future of the Left mocht ons als eerste verblijden. De opvolger van McLusky deed dat door met het geweldige 'Wrigley Scott' meteen de toon te zetten voor een set vol pure rock 'n fuckin' roll en absurde lyrics. 'Woody was a wizard / Janie was an elf / And when they got together / They only ate sausage / Sausage on a stick!' is daar een uitstekend voorbeeld van, en het hoeft niet te verbazen dat de glimlach op ons gezicht niet weg te krijgen was. Echt op dreef kwam Future of the Left toen zanger Andrew Falkous zijn gitaar inruilde voor een keyboard en de typische, springerige riedeltjes op het publiek losliet. Uiteraard moeten we er pro forma bijvermelden dat 'Manchasm' het absolute hoogtepunt was en dat 'My Gymnastic Past' de rest van de dag luidkeels werd gezongen ('WAVE WAVE WAVE I DON'T WANNA WAVE WAVE, I DON'T WANNA WAVE WAVE, I DON'T WANNA WAVE AT THEM').

Daarna was het met Red Sparowes tijd om te post-rocken. De mannen hebben een Isislid in de rangen en dan weet je dat ze een patent hebben op intense en sferische soundscapes. Ondanks technische problemen halverwege speelden de Sparowes een degelijke set. Hoogtepunten noemen zou gezien de lange titels een beetje knullig overkomen en een aanzienlijke plaats innemen in deze review, maar omdat we soms best wel eigenzinnig zijn doen we het toch. 'Like the Howling Glory of the Darkest Winds, This Voice Was Thunderous and the Words Holy, Tangling Their Way Around Our Hearts and Clutching Our Innocent Awe' was een epische trip en copybook post-rock. Omdat Red Sparowes weinig echte climaxen inbouwen in hun nummers was de set net iets te vlak om vijftig minuten te boeien, maar dat is al echt spijkers op laag water zoeken.

Phosphorescent ruilt live zijn rustieke americana/alt-country in voor het wat hardere werk met meer nadruk op gitaren. Zijn laatste worp 'Pride' is al enkele weken vastgeroest op onze iPod en het hoeft dan ook niet te verbazen dat vooral de nummers uit die plaat inponeerden. Het werkelijk wonderlijk mooie 'Wolves' bijvoorbeeld waarop zanger Matthew Houck op z'n breekbaarst de woorden haast in je oren fluistert. Of het met bijna evenveel pracht overladen 'Cocaine Lights' dat zoveel emotie bevat dat het haast pijnlijk wordt om te beluisteren: 'in the darkness / after the cocaine lights / I will miss you / more than ever'. Toch zouden wij Phosphorescent graag eens aan het werk zien in een intiemere omgeving. Ideetje voor de nieuwe programmator van Trix misschien?!

Al een gans jaar moeten we aanhoren wat een spektakel we mistten toen we vorig jaar op Pukkelpop M.I.A. verkozen boven Battles. Door de aanwezigen werd dit optreden, net als het optreden in het Stuk in Leuven overigens, overladen met de meest indrukwekkende superlatieven. We waren dan ook maar wat blij dat de mathrockgroep dit jaar terug de weg naar de Belgische festivalweides vond. En het moet gezegd, de commentaren waren niets overdreven. Gedurende een klein uur blies Battles alles weg. De repetitieve mathstructuren dreunden en werkten op ieders dansspieren. Stil blijven genieten was simpelweg onmogelijk. Het allesverpleterende 'Atlas' werd zo imponerend strak gespeeld dat woorden moeilijk te vinden zijn, zelfs voor een aspirant-journalist die van woorden vinden toch zijn beroep wil maken. Ook het aanstekelijke 'Leyendecker', met een hoofdrol voor de minstens tienarmige drummer, en 'Race: In' lieten de toeschouwers met hun kaken op de grond achter. Battles is een ongekende livesensatie die je gezien moet hebben voor je sterft.

The Enemy had ondertussen afgezegd en zo werd een geslaagde editie van Rock Herk afgesloten met drum'n'bass-setjes van Roni Size en Murdock.

Soundtrack van deze post: Nina Nastasia - On Leaving en Confuse the Cat - New Medicine

1 2 3 4

Watch this. Best. Thing. Ever.


PS. Gemakzucht en luiheid houden me nu nog tegen, maar eens ik die overwonnen heb mag je een verslag van Rock Herk verwachten.

high fidelity

What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?

#29: Bat For Lashes - Fur and Gold (2006)

Being one of the new favourites from Radiohead's Thom Yorke, Bat For Lashes was destined for success. 'Fur and Gold' is one of the best debuts of recent years. The Brighton-based singer-songwriter (born as Natasha Khan, good thing she chose an artist name) blends haunting folk, melancholy and a pinch of pop into an original mix. Comparisons to Cat Power, Kate Bush and Björk are logical but not always fair. Because Bat For Lashes is so much more than just a copy. Her lyrics are sharp and touching: Sarah, I want to be like you. / Sarah, sometimes I want to live like you / Sarah, so I know how it feels not to feel. The atmosphere in songs like 'What's a Girl to Do?' (perfect pop), 'Horse and I' and 'Bat's Mouth' is so overwhelmingly beautiful it makes me want to take the next boat to Brighton and marry this woman. I have to admit: sometimes the record is too arty for the sake of it, but with so much promise shown, I'm willing to cover that with the cloak of charity.

trying to find the perfect match between pretentious and pop

Looks like I've got a taste for making tiny little mixtapes. Yesterday I made another one. This one is rather personal so I'm not going to give descriptions for the songs (also: I'm lazy). Yeah, I know I broke Nick Hornby's rule (see last post) twice.

side a

Los Campesinos! - It Started With a Mixx -

Cat Power - Could We

Klima - You Make Me Laugh

Of Montreal - Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider

Mystery Jets - Flakes

Explosions in the Sky - The Only Moment We Were Alone

Bloc Party - Plans

The Go! Team - Junior Kickstart

side b

Arcade Fire - Wake Up

Mystery Jets - Young Love

Belle and Sebastian - Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying

Stars - Personal

Emily Haines & the Soft Skeleton - Winning

Cat Power - Good Woman

Radiohead - How to Disappear Completely

Needless to say the receiver was over the moon with it which made me very, very happy. You happy few know who I'm talking about. Here's a live version of Cat Power's 'Could We', the tape's centrepiece (although it's the second song):