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Talking Heads

Talking Heads are actually my super cool dad’s all time favorite band, and so I very much grew up begging to here Psycho Killer one more time. I thought that song along with Burning Down the House were the best songs in the history of the universe. The first concert I really remember was actually David Byrne at the Greek in Berkeley (my actual first concert was Bob Freaking Dylan in Italy when I was one). It was an awesome show. My little brother and I danced with all the old Berkeley hippies, and it felt like the greatest thing ever. I think that show was likely when I caught the concert bug.

Talking Heads are also one of my favorite bands, and David Byrne one of my favorite musicians and people. I knew how brilliant their music was but seeing Stop Making Sense still took it over the edge for me. Some of those versions of Talking Heads songs will always be my favorites (funny story my ex-boyfriend had the Stop Making Sense CD and literally only knew those versions of the songs and was confused when I played the originals). Anyways enjoy a few of my favorites:

Brand New / Modest Mouse: Concert Review

I saw Brand New with Modest Mouse at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA on Thursday July 28. Here are my thoughts. (Disclaimer: written at 3am)

Brand New and Modest Mouse are embarking on a tour together as co-headliners which is an interesting concept. There are no opening bands which I’m definitely okay with, and both bands play headlining sets. It seems like a great idea for fans and for marketing purposes, but in reality it’s a bit awkward. The tour managers should have realized that Brand New and Modest Mouse do not have the same fan base. Brand New is simply far more emo/punk rock/generally louder than Modest Mouse.

It also appeared that the majority of concertgoers were there for Brand New, and so the Modest Mouse set was very mellow and not all that enthusiastic. The band actually tried to punk-up their music probably to blend better with Brand New. Everything went a lot harder than in the recorded version, but still the crowd wasn’t particularly enthusiastic.

I actually really did enjoy Modest Mouse’s set. I thought it sounded great and was super fun. It was just conspicuously less exciting than Brand New’s set. There were a few people around me and my date in Modest Mouse shirts who left partway into Brand New’s set. Whether they were unaware of how emo Brand New is or simply had only bought a ticket to see Modest Mouse I do not know, but regardless I felt bad for them. The tour was advertised as two bands playing equal sets, but this was obviously not the case. The Modest Mouse fans got short changed.

The energy of the crowd and the stage changed drastically for Brand New’s set. Roadies wheeled huge panels of LED lights onstage providing us with awesome visuals throughout Brand New’s set, and the mosh pit was extremely (perhaps terrifyingly) energetic for Brand New.

Brand New’s set was really everything I hoped for. I’d seen Brand New three times before and heard them play the majority of my favorite songs. The only songs I hadn’t seen and desired to hear live were a few songs off Deja. And they played them! I was so freaking excited! (Please read my previous posts about Brand New to hear more about the band’s music and my personal connection to/thoughts on the band).

My date and I hung back a little so we wouldn’t get pushed which was a good call. I go to a lot of shows, and I totally love to get sweaty, pushed around and feel the crowd. However, the first time I saw Brand New at the Fox in Oakland the crowd up front was so aggressive I couldn’t even stand up (I’m a small person and stand O chance in a pushing match with big male concertgoers). When I saw Brand New in Barcelona and Paris the crowd was rowdy but much more mellow and perfect for me. I didn’t want to deal with fearing for my body this time around so we hung back. I’m glad we did. I’ve never seen the Greek that rowdy. The pit was totally insane (there was even a huge meathead guy who took his shirt off), and crowd surfers were flying every which way. There was even a rogue fangirl who jumped up on stage and got tackled by security! Basically it was really exciting and a typically rambunctious & punk rock Brand New show that I was happy to watch from a comfortable distance. Also we had a perfect view of the stage from where we were.

It was a great set. The crowd was into it. Jesse was into it. Vin was fucking crazy into it. The sound was good. The lights were dope. And everything had this exciting but sad feeling of finality. Goodbye tours tend to be the best.

Arctic Monkeys

I’ve loved the Arctic Monkeys for a very long time. I saw them two years ago and was fully satisfied by their live performance. Alex Turner’s obsessive hair combing and pruning drove my ex-boyfriend insane (I also found it a bit obnoxious), but beyond that it was a great show. This song is so god damn hot and great. Favourite Worst Nightmare has to be one of my all time favorite albums.

At the Bottom of Everything

I love Bright Eyes and Conor and this god damn song. Every lyric is really beautiful. I actually was trying to choose a few verses to quote, but I couldn’t so here’s the whole song. The song is this weird perfect blend of sadness, angst and jubilant joy. Please enjoy it like I do. (aside: I didn’t include Conor telling the plane crash story that’s the intro to the song, but it’s not because I don’t like the intro (I love it!); I just didn’t include it.)

We must talk in every telephone, get eaten off the web
We must rip out all the epilogues from the books that we have read
And in the face of every criminal strapped firmly to a chair
We must stare, we must stare, we must stare

We must take all of the medicines too expensive now to sell
Set fire to the preacher who is promising us hell
And in the ear of every anarchist who sleeps but doesn’t dream
We must sing, we must sing, we must sing

And it’ll go like this, alright:

While my mother waters plants, my father loads his gun
He says death will give us back to God
Just like setting sun
Is returned to the lonesome ocean

And then they splashed into the deep blue sea

Oh it was a wonderful splash

We must blend into the choir, sing ecstatic with the whole
We must memorize nine numbers and deny we have a soul
Into this endless race for property and privilege to be won
We must run, we must run, we must run

We must hang up in the belfry where the bats and moonlight laugh
We must stare into a crystal ball and only see the past
Into the caverns of tomorrow with only our flashlights and our love
We must plunge, we must plunge, we must plunge

And then when we get down there,
Way down to the very bottom of everything
And then we’ll see it
Oh we’ll see, oh we’ll see it, we’ll see it-

Oh my morning’s coming back
The whole world’s waking up
All the city buses swimming past
I’m happy just because
I’ve found out I am really no one

Some Quick Thoughts

I’m pretty sure I feel music way too hard. There’s no way anyone gets as filled with tears and smiles as I do when just thinking about a song. I just thought about my love for “I’m Looking Through You” and got all teary just sitting at my desk. What the hell! I’ve been learning guitar this summer which is wonderful, but to some extent I feel like I’m cool with just being an excellent listener. Is that dumb?

Anyways, listen to this:

Moshi Moshi

Brand New has quite a few interesting Japan references in their super early stuff (like Moshi Moshi) and also in their newer stuff (Mene). Moshi Moshi is conceivably the cutest song ever though, and I love it. My ex and I used to sing it together ALL THE TIME. I vividly remember us singing it walking all the way back to his house from Outside Lands last year.  I’ll also say that Moshi Moshi wasn’t ever really released by Brand New. The original version of the song is on an old Brand New / Safety in Numbers split, and an acoustic version is on the “Friends” Fadeaway records collaboration (I have that record in a cool blue black marble!!). Also Tigers Jaw (another band I love) does a dope acoustic cover. Below are some cute Moshi Moshi lyrics.

I know that you’re an angel, 
though you could never stay true 
Hey angel, I think your halo has a screw loose, 
’cause you dropped me like a brick off the rooftop of your high school 
Could I watch the next time you’re applying your eyeliner? 
I waste all my time just thinking of you

Conor Oberst

I discovered Bright Eyes when I was pretty young (before high school) and totally loved them. I worshiped Dylan and saw Conor as a similar beast. I’m Wide Awake It’s Morning, LIFTED, and Fevers and Mirrors (later) were some of my favorite albums. Conor’s lyrics were always so introspective and brutally honest, and his melodies were always folk-punk-indie-bluegrass-rock magic. And then I discovered Conor’s 2008 solo album as a Sophomore when I was going through a tough time. Some of the songs were so brutally heart-wrenching, and I loved it. It felt more sincere and real than most things I’d heard.

And then Conor released his new solo album Upside Down Mountain the summer after that sophomore year. I vividly remember me and my ex-boyfriend being so excited to hear his new music and us listening through the whole thing on the 1-California late at night coming home from a show. What immediately struck us when we heard the first song, “Time Forgot,” was “holy shit Conor isn’t sad anymore.” We were happy for him! Really happy. I felt like I’d been there with him during the depression of his self titled album, and it was wonderful to see him move on to happier times. I love Upside Down Mountain. I think before that album I felt like good lyrics had to be either sad or about romantic love. Conor’s lyrics in that album showed me what else could be good fodder for song. Below are some of my favorite verses from “Hundreds of Ways,” the third song on the album.

What a thing to be a witness to the sunshine
What a dream to just be walking on the ground
What a time to live among the ashen remnants of our love
It came before and I’m still looking for that now

It took centuries to build these twisted cities
It took seconds to reduce them down to dust
And all the tour guide could say was
“Take your pictures folks it’s late, try your best please to remember what was done.”

Don’t look so forlorn
Don’t you look so scared
Don’t get so upset
This world was never fair

But there are hundreds of ways
To get through the days
There are hundreds of ways
Now you just find one

I think part of my problem was I felt like happy lyrics were never legit. Conor’s lyrics in the album are honest about how fucking difficult it can be to be happy, but that it’s POSSIBLE and WORTH it (also, of course, we know from his past albums about his sadness).

Anyways. Conor Oberst is wonderful, and everyone should listen to him beyond just the Bright Eyes stuff.