Olivia Tremor Control//A Peculiar Noise Called ‘Train Director’

Now that we’ve opened the Pandora’s Box of Elephant 6, I figure we should just go with it. Yesterday’s song made me realize that I haven’t been listening to many of my favorite E6 albums lately, which caused me to revisit. So many of these bands really hold up…the stuff still sounds fucking great.

Of course, The Apples in Stereo’s Tone Soul Evolution is a brilliant pop gem, one that I will soon return on this blog, since it hasn’t been adequately covered yet. However, there’s also the equally amazing Black Foliage album by the lesser-known band in the original E6 trip, Olivia Tremor Control.

OTC are distinctively less poppy and more weird than TAiS. The songs veer out into strange territories sometimes, completely abandoning the hook and structure. Sometimes, the songs aren’t even really songs, just soundscapes. And yet, it’s not a problem. I’m not really a noise lover, but these guys make it work, dexterously weaving the ambient with the active and smoothing it all out with some harmonized 60s ooouhs and ahhhhhs in the background.



A Peculiar Noise Called ‘Train Director’.mp3

In the blink of eye you get several meanings.

Dressy Bessy//I Saw Cinnamon

There was this one sunny and delightful day sometime in 2002 that was declared Bad Pop Day. On Bad Pop Day, you could play pop that was bad or pop that was so bad it was good or good pop or just pop. This band falls somewhere between 2, 3 and 4. All their songs are extremely vapid (so vapid that I’m not sure there actually is any lyrical content) and extremely catchy. Even their song and album titles are the total embodiment of pop: “Ultra Vivid Color,” “Pink Hearts Yellow Moons,” “Sunny,” “California,”…

It’s only Tuesday, but it might be turning into an informal Bad Pop Week here at OSS. Hold on to your transistor radios, folks! It’s time for some Dressy Bessy!

Random Trivia One: Elephant Six Alert! Guitarist John Hill also plays with Bad Pop Day-worthy band, The Apples in Stereo
Random Trivia Two: A Dressy Bessy song was featured in the hilarious (and gay) movie But I’m a Cheerleader, starring Clea Duvall, who I am in love with.
Random Trivia Three: I saw Dressy Bessy at the Knitting Factory a few years back and Sean Lango yelled, “THANK YOU MISSUS BESSY!” to Tammy Ealom.

Can you tell I didn’t sleep enough last night? I didn’t sleep enough last night.



I Saw Cinnamon.mp3

I Saw Cinnamon
Running Down the Road
He had his arms full of melody
Fa So La Ti Da!

Bad Pop—as good as coffee? Not quite.

Beulah//Hey Brother

Alright, so—give me a break! Beulah is another California-heavy sound. Sometimes things just sound better in context. When I lived in London, there was nothing better than walking around the grey streets listening to The Smiths or Belle and Sebastian. On my BART ride to the airport, there was nothing better than listening to SF's own Beulah deliver poppy, shiny, sunny, beachy goodness.

This song is amazing. Production is on; lyrics are great; it’s catchy as hell. Pay special attention to the amazing lead guitar walkdown on the chorus, the superb horn arrangement and those gorgeous strings. It’s not surprising that Beulah had ties to two stellar indie rock institutions, Elephant Six and John Vanderslice’s Tiny Telephone Recording Studio. All-around awesome.



Hey Brother.mp3

Sadly, Beulah is no more. They broke up in 2004 and I cried (not really), because I never got to see them live.

There is a chance that I'll keep trying
To tell you the truth and end up lying to you.
*
So you held your breathe and you cursed the west
Said you had no choice--
You're moving back east where men are men.

Neutral Milk Hotel//Holland, 1945

In 2001, I took an overnight Greyhound bus trip from Detroit to New York listening only to In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel. And I was happy. That’s how good this album is.

In the Aeroplane is easily one of the most perfect albums ever created (and probably the only indie rock ever created that’s mostly about Anne Frank). The songs are simple, but that quality only enhances the appeal (and the drunken sing-along ability). The lyrics are so strong, with depth that comes off sounding pleasantly skewed, and the soundscapes are rich and innovative. Many of the songs on the album blend into each other, making the it more of a symphony with distinct movements, rather than just a random collection of songs.

Unfortunately, this sophomore effort from Neutral Milk Hotel was the short-lived band’s last, as the central songwriter and force behind the group, Jeff Magnum, strangely dropped off the face of the earth. His seclusion was so dramatic and complete that Slate has touted him as the Salinger of indie rock, which I don’t think is too terribly far off.



Holland, 1945.mp3

Now she's a little boy in Spain, playing pianos filled with flames.