all the times we ever tried

Sure, emo is easy to make fun of, it's even a blast if done right. But few movements in music are entirely failures, there will always be members who excel undeniably regardless of how much their associates tediously wail away. Such is the case for Elliot, whose majestic album False Cathedrals proves their ability to take a pidgeon-holed form of music and get it to rise above such status and exist as simply essential music. This, the song featured today which led me to the purchase of this album was first presented to me in a compilation back in 2000, about the time of the release. As soon as I could find the album and buy it, I did, and honestly I was a little disappointed at first. "Drive On To Me" is everyone's favorite song, almost uncanny in it's beautiful melody that barrels along taking your ears with it. The rest of the album seemed flat in comparison. This was one of my first experiences with a totally different kind of album. Previously, I fed myself on mainly punk and hardcore compilations, albums with easily definable attributes and spoon-fed hooks. False Cathedrals played hard to get, but when I did get it, it was worth it. Soaring is probably a correct word to use in description of the album, regardless of how trite it sounds. Anyways, it was a transitional album for me in terms of listening to more challenging music. If you think emo is best relegated to clever Shadows Fall shirts and hilarious button pins at Hot Topic, then at least give this a try. If you like it, get the whole album and you won't regret it.

Elliot - Drive On To Me

mogwai fear pelican

Whoever Gary Weber is, he has a great song written in his memory. I got this album a while ago and really didn't listen to it too much, but this weekend while I was in the studio painting it came up. It isn't often that I get instrumental music stuck in my head, generally Pelican, Isis, Neurosis, GYBE, Mogwai, and the like play music that I can let kind of wash over me, but not directly engage with 100% of the time. This song, perhaps due to it's shortness just inhabits my mind fully. As my title might suggest, it's reminiscent of Mogwai, specifically to me, "Yes! I am a long way from home!" Maybe it's something in that persistent, high-hat smeared drumbeat and splayed guitars creating a canopy of melody hanging in your head. Anyway, I upon having heard the new Mogwai noticed that they are not only influencing bands like Pelican and Isis, but they are letting themselves be influenced as well, "Glasgow Mega-Snake" for example would not have been too out of place on Oceanic, if you asked me. But this is Pelican we are focusing on now, so take a moment and take in this heavy and beautiful track.

Pelican - GW

certain fads

I changed my mind about Andrew Bird. I have heard a half dozen or so of his songs in the last year and thought they were ok, but overwrought with effort and kind of dry. Until last week when this girl was singing the violin line from the song, and it reminded me of some Bollywood song that had been stuck in my mind for at least a week. I was pretty excited because I thought she had just freed me from the frustrating problem of not knowing this song playing over and over in my mind, but when she told me it was and Andrew Bird song I was a little dissapointed. I was alot less dissapointed when I heard this song though, which does have a really nice Indian-sounding melody to it, and I was pleasantly surprised to be enjoying a song by an artist I thought I had written off. So if you too thought you didn't like Andrew Bird, give this song a listen, maybe it will change your mind too. Also, if you are somehow in the universe of possibilities reminded of a Bollywood song, (it's sung by a woman if that helps), don't hesitate to tell me, as I am still hunting.

Andrew Bird - Fake Palindromes

what'd you have to do that for?

(Today's entry comes from my friend Randall)

I'll admit it. When I first heard this song, off the Shudder to Think's major label debut Pony Express Record, I was unimpressed. Long being a fan of the "Dischord" sound and math-rock in general, I had heard about the band and their influence on the DC underground for years. But despite feeling almost obligated to like the guys for all these reasons, my first experience with them grated on me. The lyrics are completely non-sensical and the song's structure is barely there. Even the title of the song screams "pretentious art-rock," and vocalist Craig Wedren's gloating trill dares you to take him half as seriously as he takes himself. No thanks, I thought.

A few days later, half-asleep on a bus, the song shuffled up again on my brother's iPod and I let it run. For some reason, it made perfect sense. Not the lyrics - they are still beyond me - but the shaky structure and irregular melody seemed somehow stronger for their lack of cohesion. After the erratic, mathy pop of the intro, the song suddenly shifts into an impressive vocal refrain at the 1:20 mark that carries it through to the end. Wedren's naked warble evolves into a defiant, operatic proclamation complete with some really cool, almost unsettling backing harmonies, while basic power chords are overtaken by intertwining guitar lines. The song's climax fits (stylistically and chronologically) somewhere between Rush and the Dismemberment Plan, and I mean that as a good thing. Pretty innovative stuff for 1994.

Special thanks to Peter for sharing the Pigblog space with me this week.

Shudder To Think - X-French T-Shirt

it's been a long time

Well I guess I kind of dropped the ball there for about two weeks, midterms and apathy got to me I suppose, however I fully intend to be updating more regularly from here. This is from the Kleptones Night At The Hip Hopera, where I am not generally a fan of mash-ups, or Queen for that matter I have really enjoyed this album. For anyone unfortunate enough not to already be familar with it, it is a collection of Queen songs with vocals from pre-existing rap placed over it. Some obviously work better than others, such as this amalgam of Queen's "I Want To Break Free" and several Beastie Boy tracks including,"Shake Your Rump," "Intergalactic," and"Root Down" which stands perfectly well as it's own excellent song.

The Kleptones - Break