Audio By Carbonatix
Welcome to Staff Trax, the weekly feature here on DC9 where we shed some light on the music we’ve been enjoying of late, regardless of the touring or album release schedules that tend to bear the focus of most of our coverage. Consider it a chance for you readers to get some more insight into our own personal tastes. Maybe you’ll find something you like, ya dig?Hot Chip -“I Feel Better” LCD Soundsystem — “Drunk Girls” Caribou – “Odessa”
We’re aiming to raise $30,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to you. If the Dallas Observer matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there. King Crimson –
“Elephant Talk” Johann Johannsson – “The Sun’s Gone Dim
and the Sky’s Turned Black” Meat Loaf –
“Bat Out of Hell”
It’s been a good week for music delivered with a huge helping of humor. First, I busted a gut a few times over Hot Chip’s new video for “I Feel Better.” Jesus, I wish life was really like that sometimes. Then I got an early release of the new LCD Soundsystem and tracked down the video for “Drunk Girls.” That album is just awesome, and watching Murphy and co. try and stay on task while getting abused is pretty hilarious. Check that video after the jump. –Doug Davis
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A
few months ago, I was anxiously awaiting the release of Caribou’s video
for “Odessa,” the first single off Swim. On February 19th, the day the
video was set to premiere here in the U.S., I hopped on the Internet in
pursuit of it–but not because I’ve been a long-time Caribou lover and
was anxious for a peek into Swim. Rather, my best friend, Julia, is the star
of the “Odessa” video and I couldn’t wait to see her. Turns out,
the single is amazing, too–and the rest of the album is just as good. I
finally got around to purchasing Swim over the weekend, and it has been
playing on repeat ever since. –Catherine Downes
When
I was in high school–and hanging with a very ambitious circle of
musicians from band class–our Dark Side of the Moon was King Crimson’s
Discipline LP. The album is part of a small phase of King Crimson’s
sound in the ’80s, known unofficially as the “Adrian Belew lineup” of
Crimson. It consisted of three solid-colored LPs of experimental,
frenetic, modernized art-prog rock. There was the yellow-covered Three
of a Perfect Pair LP, the dark-blue Beat, and, my favorite, the wine-colored Discipline LP, where you can find this here track. Listening now, I’m
gathering that the members of Tool are definitely one band that borrowed a
page or two from the playbooks of these LPs. Baffling, fascinating, and
completely insane music to back at high school age. Some things never
change, I guess. –Alan Ayo
A
few years back, a friend clued me into the greatness of Icelandic
neo-classical composer Johann Johannsson. In 2006, Johannsson released
IBM 1401, A User’s Manual, an album as stunning as it is distinctive.
Using his own father’s voice (Jóhann Gunnarsson, an IBM engineer in 1964
who narrated training manuals), the younger Johannsson created a
stunning piece of avant garde music that is like nothing else on the 4AD
label. Check out this video for the single “The Sun’s Gone Dim and the
Sky’s Turned Black.” Simply incredible. –Darryl Smyers
Given that I was raised on ’70s soft rock and Top 40 in the 1980s, you
can’t really blame me for never hearing of Meat Loaf until Bat
Out of Hell II came out in the mid-1990s. I have
no regrets about what I was raised on, but I’ve been playing catch-up
for years. Long after the original Bat Out of Hell had sold
millions of records a year–and Meat lopped off his hair–this Born to
Run-meets-Andrew Lloyd Webber record is still inspiring. Something about
records where people want to have a better life just gets to me, even
if its metaphor is a bat on a motorcycle on the way out of hell. –Eric
Grubbs
