The White Stripes

Well, it's been a few weeks now, and I still haven't fully recovered. I've listened to their entire discography multiple times in chronological order and it's amazing how fresh and exciting after a decade their music still sounds. Yes, The White Stripes are no longer with us it's true. Jack will go off producing records and playing in thousands of other bands, and Meg will most likely choose a quieter life out of the spotlight. On one hand I'm deeply saddened that they are gone. They've been hinting at new material for awhile and they certainly seemed to have a few great albums left in them. Yet, I'm also proud that my favorite band quit while they were on top, and never released a disappointing record. It's better to leave 'em wanting more I guess. I am not dwelling on why they broke up (though I have theories), but rather I think a great band like The White Stripes deserve to be respected and revered. I've been going through my bootleg collections of their shows, and would like to share my favorite one titled The Boston Tea Party. The quality of this bootleg is superb, this was taped during their Elephant tour, a time that many considered to be their pinnacle. The White Stripes were always one of my favorite live acts. Their simplicity allowed their stage show to be loose and spontaneous. People always criticized Meg for her talents, but I always felt that her simple style was a perfect way to keep Jack in check.
The White Stripes may be gone, but with their five studio albums they have left a legacy that ranks them as one of the greatest bands of our or any generation.

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The Boston Tea Party (Full album)

The Veils

 

The Veils return with an EP titled Troubles of The Brain. I have never fully dug into their discography but I can say that these guys are extremely varied. The lead song from this EP is titled "The Wishbone." Solid. Solid psych-folk song. 

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The Wishbone

Charles Bradley

 Starting a career in music in one's late 60's is almost an impossible thing to do, except for Charles Bradley. He's another addition to the vibrant new-soul movement that features Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings. Honestly I wouldn't want this guy to be any younger, it's taken years of heartbreak and pain to make his voice into the soulful instrument it is today. He doesn't have the groove of James Brown, but rather is like Solomon Burke or Otis Redding at his more tender moments. If you like vintage soul, this newcomer is for you.

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The World (Is Going Up In Flames)

Lovin' You, Baby

Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

 

After a solid year of toying with us over Facebook about new material, Seattle folkies Fleet Foxes return with their new record Helplessness Blues and have released the title track for FREE. As far as the song goes, it's pretty solid, it's certainly no "Blue Ridge Mountains" but it has me very excited for the full release. It seems like they are trying to not rely heavily on the harmony making Robin Pecknold the main player in the band. 

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Helplessness Blues

Lia Ices

 

I am finding it hard to get over how beautiful Lia Ices is. Her album Grown Unknown came out last week, and though I've only heard a few tracks this has to be a top-knotch album. This is certainly for the Imogen Heap and Joanna Newsom crowd. She takes earthy music and makes it seem otherworldly. There is also a lovely track called "Daphne" that features an ever lovely Bon Iver on it.

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Little Marriage

Grown Unknown

Disappears - Guider

Don't let Disappears sophomore release Guider sneak by your radar without gaining your attention. These guys have an awesomely pounding faux-krautrock meets The Velvet Underground. "Halo" is probably the most Velvet sounding track on the whole album, but it's the bass line that really separates them for me. Guider is quick, in fact most of the album is comprised of the fifteen minute closer "Revisiting," but it's loud, brash, and a dead on rock album.

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Halo

Gunn-Truscinski Duo

 

This hardly noticed gem was released last November, Gunn-Truscinski Duo are a instrumental act that features a lot of Leo Kottke sounding ragga folk guitar as well as some other added minimal instrumentation. However, the guitar is really where it's at and there are a lot of different emotions being poured into this piece, "B38 Blues." Give it a whirl, throw it on in the background while you're reading or futzing about in your room.

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B38 Blues

For The Sake of The Song: LCD Soundsystem - Losing My Edge

"For The Sake of The Song" is a new periodical segment where I take a look at some of my personal all-time favorite songs, dissect them and try and show you their genius. 

"But I was There." is the conclusion James Murphy keeps coming to throughout "Losing My Edge," LCD Soundsystem's first and arguably best song. Originally released in 2002 as a single, James Murphy had no plans of being in a touring band, he just had an idea for a song and wanted to release new music. Three years later LCD Soundsystem release their first self-titled record that featured that song, and five years after that they're headlining festivals globally. LCD Soundsystem is one of indie rock's recent big success stories. However their success wasn't gained through mass radio play or commercial licensing. They earned their title of being the best dance-punk band ever through three solid LPs, a shit ton of Internet buzz and an unforgettable live presence.

It all started with "Losing My Edge" a seven minute plus change rambling dance epic that breathed life into a new sub-genre of rock that mixed the dance-hooks of Daft Punk with the frenetic art-rock of Talking Heads. 

In this track Murphy assumes the character of an aging hipster forced with the realization that with age comes a loss of coolness. "I'm losing my edge, the kids are coming up from behind" Murphy bluntly states at the beginning of the track. "I'm losing my edge to the art-school Brooklynites in little jackets and borrowed nostalgia for the unremembered eighties...I'm losing my edge to better-looking people with better ideas and more talent." As the youth begin to come into fruition, what is hip for a generation becomes re-defined, Murphy's character feels inadequate as a result of the changing landscape around him. 

 "But I was there." Murphy cries, because the one thing the in-crowd doesn't have is experience. "I was there when Captain Beefheart started up his first band. I told him, 'Don't do it that way. You'll never make a dime.' I was there. I was the first guy playing Daft Punk to the rock kids. I played it at CBGB's. Everybody thought I was crazy. We all know. I was there." There is one thing that older people will always have on the younger generation, and that is the benefit of "being there." For instance, there is a difference between actually attending a Rolling Stones concert in 1972 and buying a faded Stones shirt from Target. The experience of actually "being there" is priceless.

Murphy then goes on to make light of the Internet bloggers who "can tell me every member of every good group from 1962 to 1978" As well as the younglings who collect rare records and act as if it somehow makes them special. Murphy begins to playfully list off his favorite records, before the track climaxes musically and lyrically with the antithesis "You don't know what you really want."

To me, this song is a triumph. I have never heard a song that takes a rambling rant and turns it into an absolute club-stomper. This song can be taken multiple ways, it can either be seen as an aging hipster's love letter, a sarcastic attack on the naivety of youth culture, or my personal favorite, showing us just how silly the hip culture is. At the end of the day, does it really matter how many records you have collected? As we age, the most important thing we will have is to be able to look back on is our experiences, making the rest of that shit quite frankly, pointless.

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Losing My Edge