Ear Eater #6

                I sat ready. Food surrounded me waiting for consumption. My computer screen quivered with anticipation as I typed words into it. A few stared vacantly into their computer screens. They knew something was about to happen, something amazing, something that would change their lives forever and ever. 

                Steve Roggenbuck’s face emerged from the darkness. From darkness comes light. His teeth shone brightly out of the darkness. I’m certain Frank Hinton was happy. Everyone who was there appeared to be glad to see her. Words escape me in describing her attire. Photos failed to capture her radiating beauty. 

                All sorts of people were at the official gathering. Shaun Gannon appeared. Holding a camera Shaun was the videographer for the event. We heard countless people introduce and network among each other. In order to avoid the noise Steve showed off the surrounding area. Firefighters stood by outside. They were at the ready in case things got too hot for the poetry reading. 

                 Andrew James Weatherhead came out to Chicago from New York. While he introduced himself he explained how New York audiences were a bit more difficult than in Chicago. Though he had a slow delivery it was funny. Some of his poems had amazing lines, such as “Four more beers”, “Emails are unbelievable”, “Sleds sledding on other sleds” along with reading tweets. Metazen received some attention as Andrew read a few poems he had submitted to Frank Hinton’s site. Using weird details (ink jet printers, Statue of Liberty, etc.) made the poems that more graspable. 

                Frank Hinton read. “Fantastical Magical Life” got played.  According to Cassandra Troyan this was the first time anything like this had been done at Ear Eater. We watched her type things into a computer for the video. Once that had finished she read in a computerized voice with the caption “Sad Cave” above it. That was the title of the poem.  A girl and a boy hung out together. Each one began to explore the other, slowly, gently. Both of them rode in a boat together. Having such a long one drew me into the material. While it lasted 37 minutes it had become a whole environment with its short, suggestive sentences.

                Timothy Sanders read at the actual, in real life party. He’s the author of “Orange Juice”. According to Cassandra Troyan the book sold out. Coming all the way from Austin, Texas he began with a poem about a growling thing. I liked his delivery. Each word came out so clearly. For the first poem, he did a fantastic job of mentioning every single possible detail, how the animal moves, what it thinks, what it says, etc. Smells were described. Anything you could possibly want a description of had been included.  

                Meghan Lamb continued the evening. Introduced as a ‘poly-artist’ she had visuals and sound backing her up. The visuals included pieces of Americana, bits of farms, clear blue skies, etc. None of these are things I encounter on a regular basis. Her poem followed the video beside her to some degree. Listening to it explain the process of aging, awareness, and the bleakness of years passing. Growing up can be a bit gross and awkward. The poem felt extremely, unrelentingly dark. She asked why she pushed away all those bits of childhood, too quickly it felts. Stuffed animals were thrown on the floor. An ambient noise built up slowly. Using the same words over and over again made sense towards the end as Meghan made an entire environment come near collapse.

                Closing the evening was Mike Kitchell (known as “Impossible Mike” for the impossibility of his greatness). “A Contingency of Evil” got read first. He read it with a huge amount of energy. This one appeared to be bleak and surreal. Something was done with a millipede, something I cannot repeat on here nor want to. Really it takes a lot to shock me but the extreme details and gruesome actions were quite perverse. Later that evening I had nightmares about millipedes. 

                Seeing all the poets after the reading was exciting. We got a great feel of how they were normally. Great amounts of alcohol were consumed in the name of art. The inside of the refrigerator revealed that I and Cassandra Troyan enjoy the same brand of hummus, the rich creamy taste of Sabra. Everyone grew merry at the end. Virtual hugs were exchanged. It was a great performance. Ear Eater forever!

Neon Indian returns!

                2010 must have been the year chillwave hibernated. Neon Indian toured, didn’t release very many (if any new songs). Instead, he just put out videos for pre-existing songs. People felt a certain amount of teasing, as he was just solidifying his position as one of the two highly respected chillwavers (the other being ‘Washed Out’). “Psychic Chasms” got instant ‘Best New Music’ on Pitchfork. No other chillwave artist managed to pull that off in their first go, even Washed Out got only an 8.0 on his first EP.

                Things have changed since the halcyon days of 2009. Since that time, a great deal of sub-par chillwave has entered the music stream, tainting its good, nostalgic name. Other chillwave bands have evolved, moved past the original sound. For Toro Y Moi, that meant a longer, better received second album. Ducktails had a second, less well-received album, getting only a 6.7, meaning Pitchfork was ‘hedging its bets’ on it still remaining a band which could obtain buzz. 

                What could Neon Indian do with his time, as he worked diligently on his second album? Alan Palomo lost a guitarist and gained “Flaming Lips” collaboration. By working with Wayne, he proved he will be the most profitable chillwave entity. Losing a guitarist didn’t hurt too much as Neon Indian has been mostly a singular affair. Guitarists are everywhere; though that guitarist’s funky outfits will be missed at live shows. I know I’ll miss them. 

                Finland proved to be the place where he re-discovered his chill. Since it is in Scandinavia, it embodies the essence of chill. The welfare state the Finns have created, along with being the only country to repay all of its World War II debt to the US makes it a pretty chill place, perfect for Neon Indian.  He needed to see how to make his second album even better than the first, as his popularity had only increased since his first album. Some magazines even called his 2009 released album “the album of 2010” which felt other-worldly to him. 

                Now he’s come out with some teaser trailer for “Heart Attack” part of a 3-part instrumental trilogy on his new album. That means the new album will be longer than the first, as previous outings have shown us, longer album means ‘maturing’ and shorter albums mean ‘running on empty’. So he has that part of the system down pat. Listening to the first track from it, it sounds fantastic, exactly what you’d expect from Neon Indian, completely amazing synthesizer and great beats. Hopefully he’ll keep that up for most of the album. 

                 I’ve seen him live a couple of times. Not once have I been upset or disappointed. By now, he’s gotten down the live show, a difficult thing for his kind of music. He’s also stated the new album will drop in early fall. Since his last album leaked so early, I’m assuming we’ll get it by around July/August area. Perhaps we’ll also get some sort of EP like we did for the last one, so people can get used to the major points of the album before he goes out with the whole thing. This last part I’m not so certain about, he’s maintained twitter silence for great periods of time, perhaps he wants to ‘shock and awe’ the audience. 

                Actually, when I heard the first song off of his early EP “Deadbeat Summer” I remember sending to virtually everyone I knew who was interested in music. Each one loved it. I kept those sent Facebook messages for a long time, to remind me that sometimes hype rewards a band deserving of the attention. Of course, I kept those messages out of the music nerd habit of saying “I called it” when you learned of a band way before everyone else. As most people aren’t music nerds, when you meet a real music nerd, it is the equivalent of a secret handshake. 

                Neon Indian appear to be a more responsible affair, at least avoiding some of the negative aspects of celebrity, public break-downs and drug abuse being the most common problems. Though apparently the Antlers tweeted their rehearsal with him was a nightmare and they should not have taken acid with him. Considering the bleak nature of the Antlers music, it might have to do more with their perception than Alan’s behavior.

                Honestly, I haven’t been this excited for a release in a while. Most of 2011 has gone by with a few decent albums. I want something beautiful. Neon Indian might have that album.

Xander Harris – Urban Gothic 6.1

               First things first, I think the name is excellent. Anyone who uses a “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” character as a band name at least has a good sense of humor. It makes sense too once you consider the dark kind of music contained on “Urban Gothic”. Not Not Fun Records released this album, and it makes sense considering the heavy synth nature of the album.

                Urban Gothic is dark, but in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way. The way a lot of horror movies include humor at strange moments to lighten the mood. Xander Harris has the good fortunate of opening for some particular favorites of mine, Shit and Shine being one, Expo 70 being another. But while those bands are pretty readily established, Xander appears to be a work in process.

                Some of the songs on here are fairly decent but nothing really comes out at me. Longer tracks such as “Tanned Skin Dress” and “The House” fare well. The shorter tracks come across less distinctly. Most of the album tries for an electro-industrial vibe, and some of the songs do meet that requirement. Electro-industrial can be somewhat tricky, as the wrong mix can result in it sounding a bit cheesy. Unfortunately a few of the songs fall victim to sounding not kitsch, but just plain generic. 

                There is enough here to give me hope about future Xander Harris outings. For every song that doesn’t exactly meet its mark “When the Hammer starts to Swing” there is one that does “End Credits”. It is a bit of a mixed bag of quality, but next time around Xander will have a better feel for what works and what doesn’t.

Derek Rogers – Cosmic Overlap 6.5

                 Derek Rogers comes out of a surprisingly strong drone scene in Austin, Texas. Over the course of this extremely cryptic album, he makes illusions to classical music, metal, and feedback. It is a strange collection of influences, which are treated in uneven doses.

                The first track on here is amazing. “Cosmic Overlap” takes a classical sample. Seems simple enough, but the dynamic part comes from how the sample is sculpted into noise and somehow reforms into a new kind of classical noise, with an intense buildup. It is romantic, disorienting and makes me eager to hear more of Derek’s work.

                Some of the other tracks don’t have this same grace or poise. Instead, tracks like “An Unexpected Glow” sound like a sort of lazy attempt to capture the Zen of Earth’s track “Phase 3”. After that comes “Guitar Bloom” which appears to be a faceless, personality-less drone. 

                Right as we reach the end we return back to better quality productions. “Over the Ether” comes across as the most traditional drone song on here. “Reich Phrases” might be the second best song on here, after the beginning. Derek has an intense focus for this track which is surprisingly fruitful.

                Overall, I feel Derek is a good musician but a poor editor. A lot of these ideas don’t go anywhere, especially in the beginning after the great “Cosmic Overlap” introduction. I’d imagine a lot of people would tune out before “An Unexpected Glow” even finished. Had Derek perhaps removed that track and the following one, or reduced the length of a lot of these songs, it would have a stronger impact. 

                I’d say definitely listen to it for the first and last tracks; otherwise it tends to meander a bit too much, even by drone’s tolerant standards.

When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth – Peaced 6.4

A creation that can only exist in Austin, these guys are loud. To give you an idea of the blown amp status, several members come from the band Shit and Shine, Pterodactyl, and other excessively loud groups.  Riot Season released it. So this should conjure up images of delirious noise, gleeful abandon, and endless repetition. Unfortunately, though their music is in the same vein, it is not of the same quality. Parts of this might have been better with a little more of the precision focus that the aforementioned bands give their work.

 Make sure to put the volume all the way down before you dive headfirst into this muck. From the get-go we get almost song-like things, like the spaced-out “You’ve got Male”. Don’t fret that is not the worst name on here that honor belongs to “Cum Lake”.

Actually I think the EP gets really good once it gets into a groove. Most of the middle section seems bland, but things really get burned down with “Conjurin’”. A heavy bass comes in among the frantic guitars and hyperactive drums. Then the jerky rhythm is abandoned for what sounds like a race to the finish line with a completely wonderful noise groove. “Closet Athlete” removes some of the muck at periods, sort of breathing room. But its buildup is what makes it so wonderful.

Does New Jersey get New York’s “Sloppy Seconds” (tour-wise)?

New Jersey is a small plot of land adjacent to New York City and the surrounding area. Originally settled by well-to-do Dutchmen, it decreased in importance as New York began its ascent into the upper stratosphere of cool. Meanwhile, New Jersey continued being more relevant than Delaware, that combination hick/pollution state.

Bands know this. Every time a major band tours, they always hit New York. Hell, they even might do a few shows upstate. People from New Jersey know this as they have to take the colossal failure known as New Jersey transit, transferring multiple times before they arrive in Penn Station, before taking yet another train to Brooklyn.

Despite their obvious limitations, New Jersey can attract touring bands in a large variety of ways:

1.       When you arrive into Newark airport, you see a stop for a “Penn Station” only it isn’t actually in New York but in the industrial armpit known as Newark. Bands who have English as a second or third language thus get fooled into playing for the hipsters in the area who were too poor to afford New York

2.       Newark airport looms large over this one as well. As you wait for your flight out of Newark, you can decide to play a small show in Hoboken. Hoboken is kind of like Williamsburg except older and with Hipsters having evolved into the next phases of life, both cool dads and yuppies. That way you can make enough to afford one of those in flight sandwiches as you head towards a hipper city like Austin or Portland.

3.       This is called the “Mom and Pop” theory. Like Long Island, many people in New Jersey immediately realized how boring and lame their state was. Upon their graduation from High School, they applied to whatever New York based school they could and never looked back. James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem fame did this, as did countless others. Eventually you’re forced to at least keep in touch with those who spawned you. Thus, a short stop to collect money and affection makes economic sense. Call it the “parents show”.

4.       You are on the New Jersey turnpike and understand why truck drivers get paid more for driving up North (this is assuming you’re a band outside the Northeast area). Slowly but surely you lose your mind and get hopelessly. Eventually you find an ultra-shitty (and actually sort of creepy) small bar and are forced to play in order to obtain free beer and Buffalo wings. Your life is at an all-time low. The reverse works for bands coming from up north going to PA, etc.

So New Jersey doesn’t offer any coolness of its own. Instead, it holds this “mooching pattern” as a way of siphoning off the cool, kind of like how you used to impress others by stealing your cooler sibling’s clothing. You didn’t know it was cool; you had just run out of things to wear and failed to understand basic laundry etiquette.

Hopefully at some point New Jersey evolves beyond this wretched cultural starvation. Perhaps someday bands really will want to tour there, instead of just being sort of stuck there waiting for their plane or getting horribly lost.