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.

My Headphones: A Love Story

Some people never forget their first time. That time that you first caressed someone you really cared about. That time you hit your first home run. But what struck me was the first time I had real headphones, something I could really immerse myself in. For the first time, I could hear sound clearly, complete with bass, clarity, and actual fidelity, as opposed to those cheap, waxy ear buds.

We met at J and R music center at 23 Park Row. It was a beautiful, cool summer day in 2009. I had just finished being an extra in a movie filmed on Governor’s Island called “Isle of the Dead” a zombie art film about a group of the undead obsessed with nostalgic art movements of the 1960s. Together we say “summer of 69” in zombie voices for the delightful art collective Bruce High Quality Foundation (very much worth exploring their weird, Dadaist take on the art world).

 Anyway, I walked into J and R records with zombie makeup still on and eating multi-grain Cheerios out of a large box. Had my friends not accompanied me, I might have been escorted out for looking ‘too insane’.

As my friends searched for various audio jacks, I found it. My headphones hung there, hanging on the protruding pole like a two-bit whore, awaiting any taker. Looking at the price, I realized I could afford this, but might want it cheaper online.

The Sony MDR-XB500 felt like little pillows wrapped around my head. I gave them to my friends, who nodded with approval. My heart started beating rapidly; I had found the headphones which could complete me and my IPOD. Frequencies long ignored by me, like bass, could be felt, rather than imagined. Immediately Dub Reggae made sense to me on a physical rather than simply abstract level.

Online I got them for about $35 from Amazon. Putting them with my IPOD, it looked at home.  For the first few weeks of receiving them, I had to get used to the volume controls. And since they were noise canceling, I ended up being a bit limited in where I could bring them, since I wanted to avoid being that guy who wore them around his neck like some douche bag DJ.

At work my coworkers didn’t understand. They mocked me, saying that I had just completed my shift at JFK directly air traffic. During lunch I would put them on as I found a quiet place to eat. So upon my arrival back into the office I’d put on something deliberately triumphant, in order to make it feel like all those perfectly arranged office lights were there for a reason. And the taunts didn’t bother me; it is not as if you need excellent audio quality to listen to Nickelback or Linkin Park. 

It has been over a full year since I got them. Sure, I might have been able to afford something more expensive, but these feel like home to me. I hope someday everyone will be able to toss away those little waxy IPOD headphones and find something that suits them. In other words, find your own sound. 

Panda Bear’s New EP “You can count on me”

Before I had been worried about Panda Bear’s still upcoming album “Tomboy” but this EP has reassured me. The previous EPs made me worry that perhaps he had sort of lost his edge, since I enjoyed but did not truly love them. A few things made me change my mind.

One of those things was the concert he had on Governor’s Island, which truly was a great time to be had. During that concert he actually played a few songs I hadn’t been familiar with through either leaks or live bootlegs. Both of those favorites appear on this painfully brief EP.

“You can count on me” sounds like a drunken, happy campfire chant. The bizarre rhythm and hand claps only confirm this. A guitar which actually resembles a guitar makes this a particularly enjoyable track.

But the real winner is “Alsatian Dam”. I remember for the concert they had the visuals set to sort of roller coaster which fits the direction of the music pretty well. This is a really sweet, touching song. Part of me hopes that on the album this song gets stretched out for another 8 minutes or so. Pop music never sounded so good. 

I’m actually pretty happy that as these EPs get closer to the undisclosed release date, they are improving in quality. Maybe he’s just working on them through audience reaction, so we’ll get the best possible material once the album comes out. My only hope would be that this album actually comes out this year; I’d be very bummed out to have to wait until 2011 for it.

Hopefully we can count on him.

Panda Bear - What I want

Noah Lennox knows how to do viral advertising. As I approached Pier 11, I got to see the famous musician dressed in a Panda costume dispensing pesticide-free Soy Milk (in chocolate and vanilla form). Perhaps due to the lateness of his album, he has been forced to sell stuff on the side. Most of the people who approached him were small children who found the Panda suit cute, hipsters who found the Panda suit cute, and, of course, furries.

Why they chose Pier 11 to depart from is anyone's guess, but seeing the inside of a Water Taxi made me feel classy. Upholstered seating adorned the luxurious cabin which oozed of wealth and people well-off enough to use it on a frequent basis.

Of course, the event took place at the Beach, one of the few places on the island that's well protected. But its bigger reason is the joy of seeing the Manhattan skyline. That view is one reason why hobos used to swim across the river to Governors Island. In the early 90s they had a veritable hobo paradise on the island, living in decrepit old homes, getting asbestos in their lungs. Things were easier then, that was before the city came up with the policy of hitting hobos with flip-flops, and far before freegans started eating all their food.

But I digress. There were a few acts I got the joy of witnessing. Our first one had to be some random DJ who played boring dub reggae. All of his transitions were terrible. My only guess as to why he was allowed was the other DJs he beat used the age-old transitions of loud belching into the microphone. So that was terrible.

After that, literally anything sounded better. Teengirl Fantasy brought a little bit of fun. Reading about them, it sounds like they've come a long way. They were fun but nothing really stuck out at me. Some of their choices in varying the music were sort of strange (like bass drum rushes? Who does that?) But it felt like good, mindless fun before the more intense stuff came on.

Gala Drop came from Panda Bear's adopted city Lisbon. Actually, I enjoyed them. Each song they picked contributed directly to the atmosphere, like a form of aural architecture. Often they'd reference kosmic German music from the 70s or minimal dub. Neither one of those things is bad in my book, so I'm happy to wish them the best. Personally I felt like they did the minimal stuff the best, but that's just a personal preference.

If you're reading this, most likely you're hoping I get to Panda Bear. But, to help you with the frustrating experience live music can be, I'll tell you about Avery Tare's set. Unlike the opening DJ, who was terrible, Avery had almost too much taste. The set began bizarrely with I think something from the Godfather, I could be wrong. Basically he kept the event very specific to the crowd being played too. Hell, he even threw in Steely Dan, so he's alright in my book.

"Drone" started Panda Bear's set, sounding off like an alarm. Immediately I ran as quickly as I could towards the station, away from learning how to play Blackjack (I know how to play now, that's an important life skill). Someone next to me asked if it was going to be this abstract the whole night, and I answered correctly "No".

From there, we got exclusively new tracks, some of which sounded absolutely fantastic. Like, if you thought Person Pitch was good, this would be great. The mantra of "What I want" melted into one of the best songs I've ever heard from Panda Bear. A juicy bass, thumping percussion, and a melody to kill for merged into something so delightful I got chills. Right now his live show works as a test for the new material. Most of it sounds great, but I understand he is under a lot of pressure. Multiple live shows then allow him to determine how to edit, what to keep, what to remove, etc. But honestly, I was happy with all the material and hopefully it'll be out by the end of October (that's the new date, we'll see if he keeps to it).

Part of me wanted to see Panda Bear do some old stuff. A few people near me wanted "Bros" which would have been so sweet. Instead, we got massive, sky-filling music. I'd avoid calling it arena rock since the music is specifically designed to make sure you don't sing along that you mumble. Plus, it just sounded like it was being transmitted from somewhere far away. My brain smiled at the set and he even did an encore, which was a nice bonus since otherwise it would've been a short set.

Getting back I saw something that made me wonder if maybe multiple universes exist, or if I live in a different one. The taxi ferries had a person limit, but some jerk tried jumping the fence to meet his stupid, useless friends. Looking at him, it would be hard to take him at his word. With complete douche behavior, he felt he might win an argument against a cop. He didn't.

Meanwhile, on the other side of me, someone peed not once, but twice on the wall, surrounded only by an entire crowd of people struck by disbelief by the sheer stupidity of him.

"I told you once before, please hold it until you board the ferry" - Cop

"I wasn't peeing, some water just happened to run down my leg" was this idiot's response.

When these two people met in the front of the line, they must have realized that miracles do happen. That chance works out for the most boneheaded and douche. A douche bag parallel universe exists as well, for when they got together; they took it to the next level.

The guy peeing on the wall wet himself. A giant pee stain adorned his crotch. Rather than show normal emotions like embarrassment, he tried picking up women with his lack of bladder control, even helping to point out his pee stain to potential mates as he thought in his mind, but in reality were just normal disgusted human beings.

His jumping friend tried and failed to make himself look better by comparison. Think of two douche bags doing the worst job of being each other's wingman and you've got it. While his friend peed himself, he stated, he merely came in his pants. Perhaps this was a Saturday Night Live reference, but unsurprisingly no one was impressed. In their universe woman are turned on by men wetting themselves and talking about ejaculating in public.

Great concert, but I have shown I don't understand how some of the audience even got there.

Panda Bear – Saturday, September 11th, 2010

Months of anticipation will finally be put to rest. After purchasing these tickets long ago, I sort of forgot about them. I figured that by now Panda Bear would’ve had his album out now and that I could have become familiar with it.

Sadly, living in Portugal has dulled Panda Bear’s flair for work. Instead, we’re still hanging on a prayer that at some point Noah Lennox will get his act together and release what looks like 11 songs, based off of various “live leaks”. Now don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed the EPs up to this point, but I did wish that we could get the same sprawling, giant tracks that adorned “Person Pitch”. Maybe those songs are in the pipeline.

Anyway, I feel like you should come out. I’d appreciate your company on that small ferry as we head into Manhattan’s last true artist colony. Then I could explain to you why so many of my posts this week have been based heavily on AM pop hits.

Nah, I’ll do that now. Basically, I focused heavily on AM pop hits because they are everywhere. They form the wallpaper music you find in any large setting, due to their generally inoffensive nature. A taco bell has it, a dentist’s office has it, and a train station has it. But I feel as we cross over that small body of water, leaving the hustle and bustle of the city, we should have one of the following artists on:

Steely Dan

The Doobie Brothers

Newer AM influenced hits:

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti

Lovelife – 1994

My pick would be the following:

The Doobie Brothers – Open Your Eyes

Somebody should print out the following lyrics:

“Girl, as we take a long last look at this love
Before you go, I've got to know
I've got to know, was it ever true
I've got to hear it from you
Girl, I can take one more hurt in this heart
Before you go, I've got to know
I've got to know, was it ever true
I've got to hear it from you

Not like before
We were lost in a whirling dance
Never slowing down
Long enough to give truth a chance
To come out
So that the light could shine in

And open your eyes
If it's not real, there's no reason to frown
Open your eyes
Let's not let what never was bring us down

I've got to know, was it ever true
I've got to hear it from you

Not like before
We were lost in a whirling dance
Never slowing down
Long enough to give truth a chance
To come out
So that the light could shine in

And open your eyes
If it's not real, there's no reason to frown
Open your eyes
Let's not let what never was bring us down...”

So as you’re hanging around in your plaid shirt, full length skirt, moccasins, or whatever you feel like wearing, we could have a dance party. Not good dancing, but more like Peanuts quality dance moves. Look at each other, hug each other. Learn to be brothers and sisters to each other.

On a side note, I feel there needs to be a Terry Riley (You’re No Good) type remix of this song, lasting about 22 minutes with the song repeated in bits ad nausea. I feel this song has enough sections and light enough fare for such an endeavor to be effective.

See you on Saturday!