Songs Of The Week #35: TCDroogsma

Wall., William Tyler, Villagers, Hey Marseilles, & Weird Visions...

Well hello again, mp3 junkies! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #35!

For those of you who don't quite know what you're looking at, here's the scoop: Each week we ask two of our regular contributors to download the songs given away via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. Once they've spent a few days with the songs we ask them to write a review and give the songs a score of 1-5.

As always, we strongly suggest that you click here to subscribe to the podcast yourself. It's free, occasionally good music! To that end, we also have a poll to the right side of the page. Please vote for whichever of this week's song was your favorite. The winner receives the validation that comes with winning an anonymous internet poll, arguably the greatest achievement a musician can receive.

Sadly, we've still yet to find a second contributor to review the songs. Thankfully, we have the always dependable (and always available) TCDroogsma.

So, Droogsy... thoughts?

01. Wall. - Left To Wonder (from the EP Shoestring )

TCDroogsma:

      Whether it's due to an expanding pallet or through the massive exposure provided by stations like The Current, I've actually grown quite fond of synth-y, electro-pop over the last couple of years. Wall., however, sounds not quite like any of the other songs I've heard.

      Most electro-pop songs come on one of two ways: Either they start big and hope you get lost in a see of hooks & keyboard lines or they stay cold & distant, hoping you'll appreciate the fragility of the song. Remarkably, “Left To Wonder” takes neither of these approaches.  Rather, Wall. comes on like a space heater, slowly enveloping the listener.

      The first minute finds just keyboard & bass guitar backing some airy vocals. As the song hits the first chorus, though, the vocals become more forceful, the keyboard lines more varied, and the slow-burn potential realized.

      As “Left To Wonder” presses on more vocals are added to the mix, the sparseness of the songs initial lines (like the loneliness of that first morning after a breakup) eventually gives way to strangely parallel vocals & echoes (which calls to mind the various thoughts that come with the breakup: regret, longing, nostalgia, & resolve). All things considered, “Let To Wonder” is the rare electro-pop song that grows better (and more relatable) with every play.

Final Score: 3.5/5

02. William Tyler – Cadillac Desert (from the album Impossible Truth)

TCDroogsma:

      Remember a couple of weeks ago when I reviewed an instrumental track called “I Take Comfort In Your Ignorance” by Ulrich Schnauss? Well, if not, I tried to make a point about the title of instrumental tracks carrying more weight than they would on a track with vocals. Inevitably, since there's no voice telling you otherwise, you can't help but let the title color the song. In the case of Schnauss, this was a bad thing, as it gave the song a condescending air that it probably wouldn't have carried if it was called something like “Bullet Train” or “I'm German, This Is Music I Play.”

      So, with that in mind, “Cadillac Desert” sounds like, well, a song you would play as you were driving a Cadillac through the desert. I have no idea if that's what William Tyler had in mind when he wrote the song or when he gave it a title, but the title defines it.

     The song comes on bluntly, with the opening strings & circular guitar sounding like a revving engine. That quickly gives way to some more nifty guitar work, with the strings coming & going intermittently, as if Tyler were driving that car through the last couple stop lights in town and out toward that desert.

     Two minutes in, and the strings have been relegated to the rear view mirror. We have four and a half minutes left to go and each one passes like a car doing 80 across the desert, trying desperately to leave whatever's in the city behind. The guitars weave in and out like a mind reeling with consequences real or imagined. The cruise control remains set until the last 25 seconds of the song, when everything settles down. That city and it's ghosts no longer visible, the panic in the guitar gives way to peace and the open road.

Final Score: 3/5

03. Villagers – Nothing Arrived (from the album Awayland)

TCDroogsma:

      It's somewhat telling that, despite not uttering one word, William Tyler was able to paint an entire picture in that previous song whereas Villagers gives us three verses and doesn't really say anything.

     “Nothing Arrived” is the perfect title for this song, as singer Conor O'Brien says almost nothing of consequence. The lyrics traffic in the type of vague, grey area that let's the song be applied by anybody to any situation they'd like. “I waited for something and something died, so I waited for nothing and nothing arrived...” is the lead to the chorus. What was that something? Dunno. It's implied that O'Brien has just gotten out of some sort of relationship (could be romantic, could be platonic) and that's vowing not to fall into that trap again.

      A third verse brings almost no clarity, “I guess it's over, I guess it's begun, it's a loser's table but we've already won, it's a funny battle, it's a constant game, I guess I was busy when nothing came...”

      Now, don't get me wrong, many an artist has taken to generalization in hopes of casting the widest net possible. The memorable ones (The Smiths, Bright Eyes, The Mountain Goats, etc...) add just enough specifics to give the song personality. Sadly, “Nothing Arrived” never finds those moments.

Final Score: 2.5/5

04. Hey Marseilles – Bright Stars Burning (from the album Lines We Trace)

TCDroogsma:

      Conversely, we have Hey Marseilles, who does a fine job of using just a few specifics to fill in the blanks of the clichés that make up most of a song. Lines like, “When I go so far you leave me in the dark I just want to be your light...” and “Summer skies don't shine the same, winter cold won't numb the pain...” are definitely cringe inducing. However, lines like the opener, “Don't rely on things you read on highway signs or magazines,” find that moment between cliché and specific, giving the song life and making the listener feel like they can relate to the sentiment of the song if not the specific story. And really, that's the trick.

      “Bright Stars Burning” is a very agreeable song, but Hey Marseilles definitely sound like they graduated with honors from the Ben Gibbard Academy Of Cardigans & Jaded Optimism. The references to seasons, nature, stars, and light make this song sound like it was somehow mistakenly left off of Plans (to say nothing of the extreme polish of the production). Of course, Plans is my favorite Death Cab For Cutie record, so consider that a compliment.

Final Score: 3/5

05. Weird Visions – Make To It (w/Holly Newsom) (from the 7” Weird Visions)

 
TCDroogsma:

      I hate to say it, but “Make To It” will probably go down as the moment that the MPLS-spawned “Gayngs” sound was finally played out.

      Look, I actually kind of dig “Make To It.” I think Holly Newsom of Zoo Animal has been building to this sort of thing for quite a while. Her voice is oppressively sexy when fronting her own band and it remains so on “Make To It.” I'm also a fan of Grant Cutler (though that's been a relationship of diminishing returns since the first Lookbook record.)  The dilemma is that, where Ryan Olson was able us auto-tune to give Channy Leaneagh's voice a warm, sensual appeal with Polica, Cutler uses the same technology to make Newsom sound less sensual & more like a sexbot.

      If “Make To It” existed in an alternate universe (or maybe just a different city) where Ryan Olson hadn't already blazed this trail then Weird Visions could probably go down as something fresh & new at best or at least an intriguing curiosity at worst. Unfortunately for Weird Visions (though fortunately for us), the Gayngs & Polica record exist, relegating Weird Visions to also-ran status.

Final Score: 2.5/5

There you have it, folks! Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, and filed away!

As always, please bear in mind that neither Newest Industry nor our contributors are in any way affiliated with the artists above, The Current, or MPR. We're just music fans with laptops and little too much time on our hands.

For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). He can also be found right here on Newest Industry hosting our free weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio.

For more Newest Industry be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on all the work being done by our contributors. More importantly, we have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a “Like” is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.

World Of Worley: Week #1

I'm not a player I just crush a lot...

Hello again, baseball fans!  Welcome to World Of Worley!

For those of you who missed our initial installment, here's what you're looking at:  Each week during this Twins season we'll be joined by Twins starting pitcher Not Vance Worley.  Not Vance we'll be giving us his thoughts and insights as the Twins navigate the 2013 season.

So, Not Vance, the first two series of the season are in the books.  What do you think!

Hey Twins fans!  Thanks for stopping by!  As I mentioned last week, I'm kind of new to this whole "blogger" thing, so you'll have to bear with me.  It was an exciting week to be a Twin as we opened the season at Target Field against the Tigers and then flew out to Baltimore to do battle with the O's.

I had a lot of fun this week, so let's get to it!

April 1st: Opening Day

I'll be honest, I was pretty excited when Gardy told me I was going to be the Opening Day starter at Target Field against the Tigers.  I haven't been named an opening day starter since my high school days in Sacramento.  I used to clean up in those days, racking up three wins, tossing two no-hitters, and hitting 4 home runs over those three years.  I was really hoping to replicate that performance against the Tigers.  Turns out the Tigers are a slightly better squad than the South Sacramento Capitals.  Slightly.

The day started off well enough.  I went out to get my morning coffee on the walk to the ballpark and saw my handsome mug on the header of something called "The Star-Tribune."  Based on the fact that they're putting my face on the front page I can only assume that this newspaper is a bastion of integrity and the pride of the community.  I'm sure they're big Twins supporters too.

I bought five copies of the paper (four for me and one for my mom.  She loves when I send her newspaper clippings because she's terrified of the "inter-web.") and grabbed a coffee from something called "Caribou Coffee."  What's that all about, Minnesota?  Do you guys just use moose to sell everything?

Anyway, I made my way to the ballpark and everybody was pretty excited.  It was Opening Day, after all!  Brian Dozier was lifting some weights, Joe Mauer was stoically taking extra cuts in the cage, and Brian Duensing was shotgunning beers and challenging anybody who looked at him sideways to wrestling matches.  At one point he went up to Wilkin Ramirez and yelled, "Hey Dub-Ram!  It's Opening fucking Day rookie!  Have a beer and let's do this!."

Wilkin seemed a little put off, as his English is not great, but he took a beer from Dunse Man.  "Gracias." 

"Drink that up, young'n!  We gon' wrestle!"

Dub Ram looked confused, but fortunately Gardy came in and settled everybody down before we took the field.

Gardy: Take a knee, boys.
Jamey Carroll:  Coach, we have chairs.  Could we just stay on these chairs?
Gardy:  Don't undermine me, old man.  Dunse Man, toss me a beer.

(catches can, cracks beer, drinks deeply)

Gardy: Ugh... hair of the dog.  Alright boys, this is a big year for the Twins.  We've had a couple of down years and the fans have grown a little restless.  Now, I'm not saying we have to go out and win the World Series.  Hell, we don't even have to make the playoffs.  Just know that Terry Ryan and I have a gentleman's agreement that if I don't get this squad pointed in the right direction I'll be leaving at the end of the year.  So I want all of you to remember one thing:

(swigs deeply, finishing the beer)

Gardy: If I go down I'm bringing every last one of you with me.  Trust me, half of you guys don't even belong in the big leagues and if I don't have your back nobody does.  Now limber up, we've got a game to win.

Inspiring words.  Some managers lead by example, some lead by kindness, hell, back in Philadelphia Charlie Manuel used to lead by... well... we weren't sure.  Nobody could tell what he was saying.  Good to know that Gardenhire leads by threats.  Young guys usually respond well to threats.

Anyway, onto the game.  The gametime temperature was 37 degrees.  I kept asking Gardy if he could get the stadium guys to close the roof, but he kept brushing me off.  Turns out it's not a good idea to interrupt him when he has a fresh stack of scratch off tickets.

So, roof open, we went through all the pageantry of Opening Day.  Target Field was packed.  Everybody on both teams was introduced and took their place along the first & third baselines.  Hell, there were even a pair of bald eagles that were released after the national anthem.  It was pretty cool, but frankly, if those birds truly loved America they would've attacked Jim Leyland the first chance they got.  Really dropped the ball on that one, baldies.

The game itself went pretty well.  The nerves got to me a little bit in the first, but I thought we played pretty well after that.  Eight hits and three runs given up in six innings may not sound so great, but you need to keep in mind that:

A) It was my first time starting in Opening Day
B) It was my first time pitching for the Twins
C) It was 37 degrees
D) Nobody told me I was allowed to wear sleeves.

Anyway, we had a chance to win it, but Chris Parmelee struck out swing at a pitch that missed the strike zone so badly that I actually caught it in the dugout.  Tough break.  Starting the season 0-1 means we're starting down the Road To .500 by killing the car.  It's alright, though.  It's a long year.

Tuesday, April 2nd

Off day.  Spent a lot of it just wandering downtown Minneapolis.  I was nearly killed by about a dozen people riding their bike on the sidewalk.  Kinda made me miss Philadelphia, as bikers on the sidewalk are routinely beaten out east.

Wednesday, April 3rd

Boom!  First win of the season!  The Road To .500 his off and running!

The boys managed to keep the game close before rallying in the ninth.  Eduardo Escobar ended up hitting  game-winning double of Phil Coke.  The excitement in the dugout quickly overtook the sense of confusion that came with seeing Escobar go up to hit, as nobody up to that point had every seen or heard of "Eduardo Escobar."

My rotation-mate Kevin Correia made his Twins debut just a day after mine.  We had a good chat about it after the game.

Me: Hey, Kevin.  Nice game.  This American League ball is something else, huh?
Correia: We're in the American League?
Me: Yeah, bud.  You didn't notice?
Correia: I was kind of wondering why I wasn't allowed to bat.
Me:  You're, uh, you're not the brightest guy, are you Kev?
Correia: I'm sorry, who are you again?
Me: Touche

Anyway, good to get the first win under our belts.  One more against the Tigers tomorrow.

Thursday, April 4th

We can rebuild him!  We have the technology!  Mike Pelfrey is the The Four Million Dollar Man!

Another big win for the boys today!  Mike Pelfrey returned only seven months after Tommy John surgery and threw 5 1/3 innings, giving up 5 hits and 2 runs.  The media made a big deal about Pelfrey telling Gardy ,"I'm a horse." when Gardy tried to take him out after the fifth, but they didn't get the whole story.  Here's how it played out.

Gardy: Nice work, Mike. We'll turn it over to the bullpen from here.
Pelfrey: No deal.  This is my game.  I'm a horse!
Gardy: Really?  If you were a horse they would have shot you when you blew out your elbow.
Pelfrey: You got me, Gardy.  No, I'm not literally a horse.  I meant that I can carry a large workload similar to the way a plowhorse could work in the field all day.
Gardy: You grew up on farm?
Pelfrey: No, skip.  It's just an expression.
Gardy:  Oh, I see.  So, you're not a horse and you didn't grow up on a farm?
Pelfrey: I'm actually terrified of horses.
Gardy: Good to know.

See, you're never too old to learn something new.

Anyway, we pulled out an 8-2 win on the strength of Josh Willingham & Trevor Plouffe home runs.  The Target Field fans really went nuts after the dingers.  Willingham explained their enthusiasm to me:

Me: The crowd sure loves the long ball, eh Willy?
Willingham: I told you not to talk to me back in Fort Myers.  You think just cause you pitched one game this is suddenly open fucking mic night?  Jesus Christ!  You talk to Willy when Willy says you can talk to Willy.
Me: Got it, Willy.
Willingham: Shut up.

2-1 after one series.  We've been getting all green lights on the Road To .500 so far.  Off to Baltimore!

Friday, April 5th

Another Opening Day.  I'll be honest, these Opening Day celebrations aren't much fun when you're the visiting team.  There's so much pomp & circumstance.  So many loud fans in the opposing stadium.  I suppose it doesn't help when Duensing keeps you up all night on the flight making you watch old episodes of The Wire to prep you for the trip to Baltimore.  "It's the best show ever, Vance!  Just watch it!  I swear to god, Worley, if you don't watch this show we got beef.  For the rest of this road trip you call me McNulty and I'll call you Rawls."  I learned down in Florida that it's best not to argue with Dunse Man.  He's typically too drunk to remember the conversation the next day anyway.

Well, once all the introductions were through we  played 7 innings of pretty good ball.  Liam Hendricks held up alright, but you know he's going to stay in the rotation since he saved Ron Gardenhire from all those wolves that time their plane crashed in the arctic circle.  Wait, did that happen?  God, I'm going to kill Duensing for keeping me up all night.

We went into the eighth inning with the lead, but then Tyler Robertson left a ball up to Chris Davis and he launched a grand slam.  That dude's been on fire lately.  Not Robertson.  I'm not even sure he could catch fire if he was covered in gasoline.  I mean Chris Davis.  He's bound to become a household name soon, if for no other reason than their are like 9,500 people in America named "Chris Davis."

When all was said and done the Orioles won 9-5.  What a way to make a living.

Saturday, April 6th

Game day for yours truly.  It was nice to take the hill in an east coast town again.  I'm always at my best when being bombarded with monosyllabic obscenities.  And that was just from Buck Showalter.  He's history's greatest monster.

I didn't have my best stuff, gave up 10 hits and 5 runs over 5 innings.  I know, I know, one of those runs wasn't "earned."  Listen, if I was on the mound when the run was scored than it was "earned."  I don't have any time for the subtleties of baseball's rules.  I have one rule: Get the W.

Well, we got the W thanks in no small part to Chris Davis booting a ball in the 9th inning.  It's not all home runs and wins is it now, glory boy?  Nope, putting on an Orioles jersey carries certain obligations and one of them is to make sure you piss away a winnable game every week.

Everybody was pretty jacked up in the clubhouse after the game.  Aaron Hicks, who reached base on Davis' error, was especially excited.  At least I think he was.  He wasn't weeping to himself in the corner, so I guess that's progress.  Rookies though...

I don't plan on pitching many more games that end 6-5, but if that's the way it has to be to get the W I'll take it.

Sunday, April 7th

I made a point of getting to Camden Yards early for this one.  Duensing kept me out all night eating crab cakes.  "We're only in Baltimore once a year, Rawls!  You gotta get these things while you can!"  I had to make sure I was up and moving around to work those things off.

I was hanging out around the cage when I overheard Aaron Hicks talking to Orioles center fielder Adam Jones:

Hicks: Hey man, good to meet you.  Been a fan for a while.
Jones:  Uh, hey, thanks...
(Hicks turns around to show Jones the back of his jersey.)
Jones: ...Hicks.  Thanks, Hicks.
Hicks: So, I've always wanted to ask you, what were you thinking when you made it rain in that strip club back in '07?
Jones: What?
Hicks: You know, during Super Bowl weekend when you threw all that money around the strip club.
Jones: Goddamnit!  I'm not Adam "Pacman" Jones.  I'm Adam Jones!
Hicks: Right, you're Adam Jones.
Jones: Yeah.
Hicks: Huh?
Jones: What?
Hicks: What?
Jones: Huh?
Hicks: Cool.

Hicks than promptly missed every pitch thrown to him during batting practice.  Rookies, man...

Anyway, we took a page out of the Orioles playbook and cashed another one-run win.  Pedro Hernandez made his season debut, pitching 5 strong innings before being pulled from the game when Gardy couldn't figure out who the hell he was.

Gardy: Cole, you look different.
Hernandez: I'm not Cole De Vries, skip.  I'm Pedro Hernandez.
Gardy: THE Pedro Hernadez?
Hernandez: Um... yes?
Gardy: I'm just kidding. If I actually kept track of every "Pedro Hernandez" I knew through baseball I wouldn't have any space left to remember my lucky lotto numbers.
Hernandez: Thanks, skip!

So that's one week down.  The record sits at 4-2 as we head off to Kansas City!  The Road To .500 has been traffic free so far! Talk to you next week!

Well there you have it, baseball fans!  The first week of Twins baseball is in the books and the Twins are rolling.  Big thanks to Not Vance Worley for stopping by and giving us his insider info.

For more Not Vance Worley be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TinyVancer).  He'll be joining us all season.

For more Newest Industry be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors.  More importantly, we have a Facebook page here.  Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a "Like" is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.



 

Songs Of The Week #34: TCDroogsma

Josh Ritter, Caitlin Rose, Pickwick, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, & Pert Near Sandstone...

Well hello again, MP3 junkies!  Welcome to Songs Of The Week #34!

For the uninitiated, here's what you're looking at right now:  Each week we ask two of our contributors to download the songs given away via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast.  Once they spend a couple of days with the songs we have them right up a quick review of the tracks and give them a score of 1-5.

As always, we strongly suggest that you follow this link and subscribe to the podcast yourself.  It's free music and it's fun for the whole family!  Plus, it'll give you a leg up in voting in our weekly poll to determine everybody's favorite song of the week.  Just have a glance over the right side of the page.

Sadly, our search for second contributor to review these songs has yet to bear fruit.  This means that, for better or worse, we're all stuck with the perpetually available TCDroogsma and his opinions.

So, Droogsy... thoughts?

01. Josh Ritter - Joy To You Baby (from the album The Beast In Its Tracks)

TCDroogsma:

     Remember back in the late 90's when VH1 would only play new music that was poppy, harmless, and performed by a singer/songwriter (Five For Fighting, John Mayer, etc...)?  Well, that's exactly the sweet spot that Josh Ritter hits with "Joy To You Baby."

     I don't want to just outright say that "Joy To You Baby" is a bad song, because it's not.  It's just an incredibly low risk song.  It's got a nice, if forgettable, lead guitar hook, some bells & whistles to spruce it up, and lyrics that could be taken as passive-aggressive if Ritter didn't sound so damned honest.  Again, in the late 90's this would be a low-risk/high-reward proposition.  The video would have been on VH1 six times a day, the song would have become a bedrock of Cities 97, and he'd be playing the Basilica Block Party.  In 2013's landscape, where every listener is free to follow their tastes down any wormhole they see fit, Ritter's wide net won't catch many fish.

Final Score: 2/5

02. Caitlin Rose - Waitin' (from the album The Stand-In)

 

TCDroogsma:

     The country-twang of "Waitin'" gives the immediate impression that Caitlin' Rose is no stranger to the collected work of Neko Case.  While she may have the voice to pull that off, "Waitin'" presents none of the left turns and lyrical challenges that make Neko Case unique.

     "Waitin'" comes on like a jilted-lover anthem, but doesn't really go anywhere.  "Did you see the end from the very start? I saw it too..." leaves Rose sounding like she's in the midst of a very amicable breakup.  And really, who wants to listen to a song about amicable breakups?  The rest of the song is equally non-threatening (right down to the guitar solo that sounds like it was cribbed from Fastball's "The Way").

     Rose and her band do deserve credit for selling the song.  The build up to the chorus quite well and Rose certainly has the voice to carry the hook.  Even though I'm not particularly fond of the song, it's delivered well enough that it sticks in my head when it's over, which is no small feat.

Final Score: 2.5/5

03. Pickwick - Hacienda Motel (from the EP Myths Vol. 1)

 

TCDroogsma:


     Admittedly, with my mild obsession with Manchester, I had high hopes for a song with the word 'Hacienda' in the title.  Sadly, Pickwick doesn't seem at all concerned with defunct Mancunian discos.  This is something we disagree on.

     What Pickwick does have going for it in this song is the ability to work up a nice groove.  They sound like Dr. Dog without the stupid ventures into Americana.  Instead of twanging out like Dr. Dog they stick to their groove and come out sounding like a warmer version of Cold War Kids.

Final Score: 3/5

04. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Let The Day Begin (from the album The Spectre At The Feast)

 

TCDroogsma:

     Disclaimer: I was a staunch defender of BRMC for years.  In fact, I've always thought that their career mirrored The Strokes in a way.  They came onto the scene with a self-titled album and the strength of the still-great single "Whatever Happened To My Rock n Roll?"  Their second album Take Them On, On Your Own was their Room On Fire, less commercially successful, but featuring just enough tweaks to the formula to feel both old and new.  Howl, their venture into the underbelly of the Bible Belt, was underrated and, unfortunately, the album where the indie world pretty much checked out of the BRMC experience.  That's a shame, because their fourth album, Baby 81, contains their two best songs (at least in my opinion) "Berlin" and "Weapon Of Choice."

     This, however, is pretty much when I checked out.  Even though I like the band there was no way I was going to dig too deep into their instrumental album and, while I did enjoy the title track of Beat The Devil's Tattoo, it wasn't enough to convince me to pursue the album.

     Which brings us to "Let The Day Begin."  Most people's main criticism of BRMC over the years was that their wasn't much artistic growth (not a sentiment I necessarily agree with, but I can see where it comes from).  Every album was guaranteed to be drowned in reverb, feedback, cigarette smoke, and black leather.  As the hooks fell off so did the fanbase.  The problem with "Let The Day Begin" is that, instead of redoubling their efforts and embracing their niche, they aim for one last shot of glory.

     Not to bang that late-90's/early-80's drum again, but the mainstream they're aiming for with "Let The Day Begin" no longer exists.  It's a niche-world and they should probably be comfortable in theirs.  Instead they clean up their sound to an alarmingly crisp level.  The reverb is gone and, with it, the last call/last cigarette energy that made the band special.  It's not polished like, say, Elbow is polished, but it's just too clean.  "Let The Day Begin" has BRMC coming off like the reformed rocker at a job interview in a polo shirt & a new haircut.  It seems more presentable, but it's clearly a put-on.

Final Score: 3/5

05. Pert Near Sandstone - Ship Of Fools (from the 7" Ship Of Fools)

 

TCDroogsma:

     All of my familiarity with Pert Near Sandstone has been via the Song Of The Day podcast.  I've gotten a couple of tracks over the years and, while I didn't enjoy them much, that's not Pert Near Sandstone's fault.  This sort of quick-strum, banjo-and-fidle, Dust Bowl sound is just not my cup of tea.

     That said, "Ship Of Fools" is probably my favorite song that I've heard from the band.  The high harmonies have been ditched for a world-weary, ragged vocal performance from Kevin Kniebel, which I think suits the band nicely.

Almost all bluegrass bands aim to make the listener believe that they come from a hard livin', hard lovin, hard drinkin' time.  "Ship Of Fools" may not convince you, but it's good enough that you can play along for a few minutes.

Final Score: 2.5/5

Well there you have it, folks!  Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, and filed away!

As always, please remember that neither Newest Industry nor its contributors is in any way affiliated with the artists reviewed, The Current, or Minnesota Public Radio.  We're just music fans with laptops and a little too much time on our hands.

For more TCDroogsma be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TCDroogsma).  He can also be found right here on Newest Industry hosting our free weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio.

For more Newest Industry be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors.  More importantly, we have a Facebook page here.  Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a "Like" is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.

World Of Worley: Hello Twin Cities!

And ya say Twins City!

Well hello, baseball fans!  Welcome to brand new column here on Newest Industry!

A lot of us here at Newest Industry are Twins fans.  As such, we were hoping to incorporate a weekly Twins column into our usual mix of posts.  We reached out to several people before finally finding somebody who was willing to embrace the challenge.

Ladies and gentlemen, please give a warm welcome to Newest Industry's newest contributor: Not Vance Worley!

We're planning on having Not Vance here all season, providing updates on the Twins season each Monday throughout the summer.

The season kicks off tomorrow, so we thought today would be a good time for our newest blogger to write his first column, introducing himself to our readers and Twins fans everywhere.

Not Vance, take it away!

Hello Twins fans!  You'll have to bear with me just a bit here, I've never been asked to write a blog before.  I guess I'd like to take a second to thank Newest Industry for inviting me to join their crew of bloggers for this season.  Despite their generally unkempt appearance they seem like nice enough folks.

So this is my first season with the Minnesota Twins.  I'm pretty excited.  I've heard that Minnesota has some of the best fans in the world.  Any fanbase that was willing to put up with Alexei Casilla for six years must have hearts of gold.

As most of you probably know, I spent the last couple of  seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies.  I had some great times in Philly before getting injured last season.  I won't get into all the specifics, but let me be the first to tell you, you haven't lived until you've experienced one of Jimmy Rollins' "Cheesteak Parties."  I'd tell you about them, but everybody who attends one has to sign a legal waiver banning them from discussing what goes on at the party.  Let me just say this, nobody knows a Philly cheesesteak like Jimmy Rollins knows his cheesesteak.

But, that's in the past.  I'm here in Minneapolis now and I'm looking forward to helping the Twins get back to their winning ways.  I know that a lot of people were skeptical of Terry Ryan for trading Ben Revere for me.  I can understand that.  Let me just throw a couple of numbers at you:

Ben Revere HR total for 2012: 0
My HR total for 2012: 0

Think about that for a second.  I think you made the right move, Minnesota.  I know there's a lot of skepticism about our team this year, but let me tell you, we are .500 bound!  We play in a division with the Royals and Indians, right?  How could we not get to .500?

Spring training down in Fort Meyers has been a blast.  I thought a fun thing for us to do to kick off the blog would be for me to tell you a little bit about my new teammates.  Some of you probably know them better than I do, but that's part of the fun!

Let's have a look at the managers and the lineup first!

Manager Ron Gardenhire:  I was impressed with Gardy from the first time I met him.  His ability to scratch off lottery tickets using the cap from his Budweiser was particularly impressive.  I've never seen anybody scratch off so many lotto tickets in one sitting!  Truly a player's coach.

Pitching Coach Rick Anderson: I spent a lot of time with Coach Rick during the spring trying to get my arm back up to speed. He seems nice enough, but he has this pitching strategy that involves trying to get the batter to make contact with the pitch.  Seems kind of counter-intuitive to me.  I typically plan on striking out everybody that I face.  I learned that from Roy Halladay.  I think I'm gonna stick with that for a while.

Catcher Joe Mauer: Everybody knows Joe Mauer around the league, but let me tell you, few people really know Joe Mauer.  When I arrived in Fort Myers he gave me a gift basket filled with Head & Shoulders shampoo, Kemps whole milk, and a note that read, "Shake me off and I'll have you in Rochester before the 7th inning.  Sincerely, Rubber Band Man."  It was surprising, and a little unpleasant, considering the milk had evidently just been sitting out for days.

First Baseman Justin Morneau: I was super excited to meet Justin Morneau when I got to Florida.  I remember watching him win the MVP award during my senior year of high school.  He was such a monster that year.  It was cool meeting him, though for the first two weeks of spring training I think he thought I was Devin Setoguchi.  He kept telling me the Vancouver Canucks were going to run away with the division.  Being the new guy I didn't want to argue with him. The only way to get him to stop was to get him to face the sun and hope a headache took hold.

Second Baseman Brian Dozier: The Bull-Dozier seems like a good kid.  Lot of energy and lots of fire.  His passion reminds me of Chase Utley back when he was still alive.

Shortstop Pedro Florimon: Even though I don't speak much Spanish and Pedro doesn't speak much English it's important for a pitcher and his shortstop to develop chemistry.  I figured the best way to share who I was with him would be to give him a good old "Sacramento Hello."  For those who don't know, this is a tradition among those of us from Sacramento. Basically, you sneak up on a guy in the middle of the night, duct tape his mouth, tie up his hands, cover his eyes, put a Vlade Divac jersey on him just start whaling away on some cowbells.  Pedro seems genuinely terrified of me now, but deep down I think he appreciates the gesture.

Third Baseman Trevor Plouffe: I never actually got to meet Trevor.  I saw him sitting across the locker room from me, but every time he got up to come over and introduce himself he'd strain his quad and have to sit back down.  Maybe we'll get to know each other in Minnesota.

Left Fielder Josh Willingham: Looking at last year's Twins team I saw that Josh had a big year for the club.  Since he's the team's offensive leader I thought it would be important to get to know him, but when I went over to meet him all he said was, "Great, another fucking new guy.  Listen, whoever you are, I don't know why I'm still on this team and you can bet your ass I won't be here come August."  When I explained that I was the new pitcher he said, "Oh, the guy they traded my center fielder for?  You know how much more running I'm going to have to do because of you?  For every ball hit to the left-center gap while you're pitching you owe me $4,500.  I suggest striking out everybody."  Seems like we're on the same page.

Center Fielder Aaron Hicks:  Man, this kid went nuts this spring!  Home runs, gappers, stolen bases, scoring runs... Plus, he's a fellow California boy, which is nice.  People have been telling me that Minnesota weather is tough on people from California, so I'm glad I'll have another homeboy there to lean on.  I've heard it sometimes gets down to 50 degrees!  In the spring!  Crazy!

Right Fielder Chris Parmelee: Meeting Chris Parmelee was great!  This guy is so talented!  Not only a big league ballplayer, but he's great as Dr. Spaceman on my all time favorite show 30 Rock!

Designated Hitter Ryan Doumit: Doumit's a strange guy.  First time I met him he demanded that I refer to him as The Supervillain and told me that, "just because someone wears a mask doesn't mean he done something automatically..."  That seemed reasonable, but then he put on his metal mask and disappeared for the rest of spring training.  Like I said, strange guy.





So that's the lineup.  I'm excited to watch those guys.  Top to bottom they're easily one of the top five lineups in the AL Central.

Now, on to my kind of guys, the pitchers!

Starting Pitcher Mike Pelfrey:  Mike and I actually got to know each other pretty well last year as we each spent the season living in NL East DL purgatory!  We would have nice long chats about how bad our arms hurt and who's lineup was worse defensively so it was probably a moot point that we weren't pitching.  There's no bond stronger than the shared bond of lowered expectations.  He's really bounced back this spring though.  I think getting out of Queens was probably good for him.  He told me that getting out of Queens is good for everybody.

Starting Pitcher Kevin Correia: Another new guy here in Minnesota.  Seems like a nice guy, but let's just say that guys batting averages jump up a couple of points just by making eye contact with him.  Just try not to get hurt out there, bud!

Starting Pitcher Scott Diamond: Scott made a point of coming up to me on the first day of spring training to, "make a couple of things clear.  First off, I'm the ace of this staff.  If you think you're coming in here and taking my spot you got another thing coming.  Second, you call me 'Black Diamond.'"  I was surprised by the nickname.  "'Black Diamond,' like the KISS song?" I asked.  "Well, kinda.  The KISS song, but not the KISS version.  The Replacements version on Let It Be is kind of the one I took the name from."  I told him that's a lot to ask of a nickname, but he assured me that most of the people in Minneapolis get it right away.  In fact, most don't even know it's KISS song.

Starting Pitchers Liam Hendricks & Cole De Vries:  If you can tell which of these guys is which you're a better man than me.

The Bullpen: A bunch of guys who aren't good enough to take a job from Kevin Correia.  No sense discussing them.

So that's my first impression of the team.  The Road To .500 starts tomorrow afternoon at Target Field with yours truly throwing bullets!  Looks like the game time temperature is going to be in the high 30's, but there'll be so much heat coming off me that you can probably wear t-shirts.

Talk to you next Monday!

There you have it, folks!  The very first edition of World Of Worley from our newest contributor Not Vance Worley!  Be sure to check back each Monday as Not Vance recaps the week and scouts out the week ahead!

For more Not Vance Worley, be sure to give him a follow on Twitter (@TinyVancer).  The next person to follow him will be the first!

For more Newest Industry, be sure to give us a follow on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1) to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors.  More importantly, we have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a "Like" is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.

Songs Of The Week #33: TCDroogsma

Wooden Wand, Ducktails, Ulrich Schnauss, Foxygen, & Strange Relations...

Well hello again, everybody! Welcome to Songs Of The Week #33!

For those of you who aren't quite sure what you're looking at, here's the scoop: Each week we ask two of our contributors to download the songs given away via The Current's Song Of The Day podcast. After spending a few days with them, we as them to write a review of each song and give it a score of 1-5.

As always, we strongly suggest that you follow this link and subscribe to the podcast yourself. It's free music! To that end, we've also posted a poll to the righthand side of the page. Please vote for whichever of this week's songs was your favorite. The artist with the most votes at the end of the week receives the peace of mind that comes with winning an anonymous poll on a blog. High stakes!

Now, if you've been following the Songs Of The Week column at all, you'll know that we've been unable to find a second person to review the songs. Who knew it would be so hard to find a blogging music critic in the Twin Cities?

So, yet again, all we can offer you is the perpetually available TCDroogsma and his take on the tracks.

So, Droogsy... thoughts?

01. Wooden Wand – Supermoon (The Sounding Line) (from the album Blood Oaths Of The New Blues)

TCDroogsma:

      “Supermoon (The Sounding Line)” is a tough song to pin down. Wooden Wand (essentially singer-songwriter James Toth) has made a career of left turns and “Supermoon” is yet another.

      To those who are not overly-familiar with Toth's work (like, say, myself), this doesn't prove to be a benefit. If you've been a fan for him, I'm sure the airy-spaced-out country vibe he's hitting on here is just another intriguing guise for a man who's built a career out of them. For the rest of us, however, it's just an airy-spaced-out country song, and not a particularly compelling one at that. Without that frame of reference, what are we supposed to make of this?

      The actual song is a bit charming enough, if not confounding. The titular “supermoon” is a reference to the time that Toth and his significant other fell off. The line leading up to the chorus, “No one's gonna climb this sounding line,” lends an air of dread to the fallout from this supermoon breakup. Down past, “the Mark Twain at two fathoms... the Deep Six at six fathoms...” we expected to find something more sinister than just Toth's emotional struggles. Sadly, that's all that's waiting at the bottom of the water. Frankly, they probably could have just stayed there.

Final Score: 2/5

02. Ducktails – Letter Of Intent (from the album The Flower Lane)

TCDroogsma:

      I'll be honest, I had never heard of Ducktails before this song. Turns out it's the solo work of Mathew Mondanile, guitarist for Real Estate. It took me a few listens to finally “get” “Letter Of Intent.” Secretly, I was hoping it was a song about the struggles of committing to a college as a high school football player.

      Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Fortunately, we are treated to 80's-style, synthed-out groove that's one half Madonna and one half Hall & Oates (or, I guess, one quarter Hall & one quarter Oates). For about the 1,000^th time here on Songs Of The Week, my love for boy/girl vocals is going to trump any other factor in song evaluation, and Ducktails does it surprisingly well. To their credit, they ride the female's lead (sorry, I don't know their names) as far as her charming voice can take before a bridge built around the Molandile's voice. This vocal trade-off lends the song a lot of color.

      Really, that's where the appeal of “Letter Of Intent” lies. Stripped down, it's an average-to-good song, but Ducktails do a remarkable job of adding just enough little things to reward repeated listens. A keyboard flutter here, a vocal affectation there, and just enough room to breathe that “Letter Of Intent” sounds tailor-made to be the spring anthem of every skinny, awkward kid saying goodbye to his first crush at the end of freshman year.

Final Score: 3.5/5

03. Ulrich Schnauss – I Take Comfort In Your Ignorance (from the album A Long Way To Fall)

TCDroogsma:

      This is the second week in a row that I've been tasked with reviewing an instrumental track here on Songs Of The Week. Unlike last week's song from Mister Lies, with its club-ready drums and keyboard blips, Ulrich Schnauss takes a little more time to stretch his legs out with “I Take Comfort In Your Ignorance.”

      (Sidenote: That's a brutal title for an instrumental song. For better or worse, the title is going to set the mood of a track, moreso if it's lyric-less. Calling a song “I Take Comfort In Your Ignorance” comes off as condescending at best. However, that's only an initial take that, for the most part, leaves your brain after a few listens.)

      “I Take Comfort In Your Ignorance” is not built for sweaty clubs. Oh, it acts like it is. The keyboard buildup at the beginning of the song is just begging for that pause... DROP moment. Wisely, it never comes. A lot of electronic music seems built for people on ecstasy. “I Take Comfort In Your Ignorance” sounds more like it was made for someone who's had a few bowl hits.

      Those keyboards that sound like a buildup at the beginning eventually turn into a canvas for Schnauus to paint on. Melodic keyboard lines show up and then disappear just as quickly, giving the listener the sensation that a lot is happening, when, in actuality, there's so much less to it than you think.

      “I Take Comfort In Your Ignorance” can be framed as a two-part suite. The pulsing of the keyboards is eventually replaced with actual percussion in the second half of the song, but again, it's not a Drop moment. In fact, the second half of the song is almost like sequel to the first half. Not as good, lacking the subtle rewards of the first, but a necessary climax.

Final Score: 3/5

04. Foxygen – No Destruction (from the album We Are The 21^st Century Ambassadors Of Peace And Magic)

TCDroogsma:

      Woah, woah, woah... Put down the copy of Nashville Skyline and step away from the turntable...

      Listen, when it comes to Bob Dylan, there's a difference between “influenced by,” and “hero worship.” When it comes to Foxygen's “No Destruction,” the only question left on the table is spit or swallow?

      I should note right off the top that I'm predisposed to hate shit like this. Growing up on punk rock taught me that the idealism of the 60's was a fool's pursuit, self-centered and fruitless. Evidently, Sam Francis and John Rado did not grow up on punk rock. “No Destruction” is drowning in long-dead tropes like, “the door of consciousness, San Francisco,” and a world of, “no destruction in the waking hour...” The fact that the most rebellious action they could come up with in our post-OWS world is smoking pot in a subway gives them away as aping their idols rather than updating the message.

      And then, just in case the weezing vocals and middling lyrics weren't bold enough signposts, the harmonica shows up to take us out. The title “No Destruction” is brutally appropriate. Those idealistic hippies from the 60's were concerned with the destruction of a flawed system. Foxygen seems concerned strictly with leaving the system intact and ringing every last cent from the bloated corpse of those same hippies.

Final Score: 0/5

05. Strange Relations – Endurance (from the EP Ghost World)

TCDroogsma:

      Remember last week when I reviewed Fury Things? If not, I lamented how the key to a really good shoegaze-pop song is giving the listener something new to discover each listen. You can't just turn up the reverb and hope that's enough.

      To that end, Strange Relations has done their homework. “Endurance” got better and better every time I listened to it. Coming off like the bastard child of Gospel Gossip, Solid Gold, and Night Moves, there's a lot of things going on in “Endurance” and all of them are being done very well.

      The guitar doesn't squall so much as it lingers like a fog, with random leads rising up like steam from a sewer. The rhythm section is deceptively tight, conjuring up a danceable groove that can, I'm assuming, be turned into a monster live. Add to that mix a vocal line that takes half a dozen listens to really reveal itself and Strange Relations comes off like your older brother's impossibly cool girlfriend, cigarette hanging between jet black nails and the smell of whiskey following her up the stairs.

Final Score: 4/5

There you have it, music fans! Another week's worth of songs downloaded, reviewed, and filed away!

As always, please bear in mind that neither Newest Industry nor its contributors is in any way affiliated with the artists above, The Current, or MPR. We're just music fans with laptops and a little too much time on our hands.

For more TCDroogsma he can be found on Twitter (@TCDroogsma). He can also be found right here on Newest Industry hosting our free weekly podcast Flatbasset Radio.

For more Newest Industry we can also be found on Twitter (@NewestIndustry1). Give us a follow to stay up on the work being done by all of our contributors. More importantly, we have a Facebook page here. Trivial as it seems, stopping by and giving us a “Like” is a free & legitimate way to support the blog.