Radio Dick – New Moon No Swoon Edition
Today’s Radio Dick will digress into semi-rant this weekend, not particularly because the tracklist I’ve got below is bad, but more because I’m knee deep in New Moon nonsense. Considering the soundtrack issue is relevant and thought-provoking, I wanted to follow up on my already disdainful, yet mildly successful take on my initial fears and frustration with the album’s indie-heavy cast. I work in an American high school. This means I had half of my classes skip school on Friday because they were up until 4AM catching the first showing of New Moon. Parents fully understand in this country that if a killer new tween-friendly film hits the theater at midnight, a fully excused absence from school the next day is logical. We can’t have our children sleepy at school. Additionally, that opening of Macbeth Sally will miss ain’t got shit on Jacob vs. Edward.
This is troublesome on a whole bunch of levels. As a music blogger, I choose to focus on the soundtrack. I have yet to hear a single teenager mention Grizzly Bear or St. Vincent or Bon Iver one time in all of this facebook Twilight madness. Nobody cares about the music of the film. It’s all about that one guy’s ripped midsection and trashy interpretations of Gothic novel standards. I haven’t heard children running into my classroom proclaiming their love for solemn indie folk yet. Mind you, I’m speaking from outside of the stadium here, having not read the novel or viewed the film. However, I expressed my frustration a couple of months ago about how artists should pay more attention WHERE they showcase their art.
As I mentioned in that previous post, I don’t particularly have a problem with bands attaching their music to television or film, but I’d like to think some bands have more discretion about which shelves they put their art on to showcase. Grizzly Bear may just have written one of the best albums in existence with Veckatimest and Yellow House isn’t too far behind, if at all. It’s problematic when bands who soar to such artistic scopes attach their artwork to things like New Moon. If the novel had more literary merit, or if the film was going to be appreciated for something other than abdominal muscles and rehashed love archetypes, maybe I’d be more understanding. Truthfully, the soundtrack has some excellent music, and because teens aren’t focusing on it, I’m either entirely correct on my argument, or it’s being tossed to the ground. I refuse to belly up to the film and soundtrack, and am particularly uneasy about some of these artists pairing up their work with all of the things associated with the series.
As far as my Radio Dick list today, bunches of tracks have been released into the ether this week and I just kind of lumped them all together and culled them all week. Of course, the biggie is Beach House’s new single,”Norway” which tape-manipulates its way into your brain pretty quickly. The band creates crushing slow-tempo ear candy, and while “Norway” is more accessible, it points to the excellent full album about to hit the shelves. Jason Boesel teamed up with a whole slew of folks to release some new tracks, and “Hand of God” has been playing all week for me. We’ve included our live rip of “Cousins” from Vampire Weekend, which Brian ambivalently mentioned Friday in his post. CFCF covers Fleetwood Mac’s “Big Love” and Beck also hits the list with a 10 minute quirky ball of Beckness with “Harry Partch.” People Eating People is a band I caught over at I Guess I’m Floating through the Music Alliance Pact, and “All The Hospitals” is another favorite of mine from the list. Overall, this is a a pretty poppy and electronic list. Enjoy, and if you’ve got any commentary on the New Moon issue, throw it in the comments section. I’ve got plenty to discuss.
People Eating People – All The Hospitals
Vampire Weekend – Cousins (Live)
Small Black – Pleasant Experience
Crystal Antlers – It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue (Bob Dylan Cover)
El Guincho – Antillas (XXXchange Remix)
November 22nd, 2009 at 9:54 AM
I’ve never been a fan of Beck, but that Harry Partch track is awesome.